The Ripple's Latest Scoop...

You heard it here first. Tomorrow, July 25, 2018, a Wednesday, preliminary work begins on the replacement of County Bridge #155 over Riley Slough. This project has been in the works for three years. Work was postponed because another County bridge replacement up north somewhere was deemed a priority, and because the County is fueled by our tax dollars, there just weren't sufficient funds to upgrade two bridges at once.

This morning Gladys and I stopped to take photos of the County work order and the rustic cabin that was home to the Kevin Olson family for twenty some years. As we pedaled on, I heard hammering beside the last outbuilding to the north. Standing behind his work van, a young man was pounding away on some sort of construction. The Ripple has a nose for news and I smelled some now. I asked the worker what he was cobbling together. "A temporary power pole," he replied between blows. Further queries revealed the stanchion would provide interim power for a construction company who employed him. "A crew is coming in tomorrow to demolish the house and these outbuildings," he replied. "I guess they're going to replace the old bridge. They'll need a power source while they do the work."

Call it Karma, if you believe in such a thing. Turns out the photos attached to this post will be the last ones taken of that quaint little bungalow perched on the shady north bank of Riley Slough. Tomorrow it will be hauled off in splintered shambles. From its forlorn appearance and unkempt lawn I knew it must no longer be occupied. The cabin was always neat and trim, flowers in window boxes and hanging baskets, the lawn close cropped...a sign that someone cared. Now just a few odds and ends in the carport and a faded American flag give testimony to its former residents. There's just something depressing about an abandoned home.

Three years ago this October, Kevin Olson and property owner Ginger Mullendore met with Councilman Dave Somers to discuss the fate of the bridge and its impact on her property. Kevin, tenant and current resident, who has seen the property change hands a time or two, was most concerned as the proposed bridge approach would pass only two or three feet from his doorstep. The Ripple was on hand to record the meeting (The Meeting at Bridge 155, 10/6/2015). Somers listened to their concerns but as the County's right-of-way had been breached, there was little he could do to find a solution. As part of the bridge replacement project County engineers had decided to straighten out the "dog leg" blind corner on the north bridge approach. To adjust the "kink," the County would realign the bridge approach by moving the Upper Loop to the west. The real estate required to effect the move would include part of the lawn of the old Victorian home on the south bank of Riley and nearly the entire front yard of Kevin's cabin.

The Ripple has frequently referred to the Tualco Loop as the Tualco Valley Speedway and for good reason: its many straight stretches.

I'm afraid the engineers' "safety measure" will have unintended consequences. My fear is that by straightening the stretch of road between the Upper Loop and Lower Loop intersection Valley speeders, namely motorcycles, "crotch rockets" and testosterone fueled hotrodders will have a quarter mile more in which to accelerate before they reach the next section of straight roadway stretching from the south bridge approach all the way to the Tualco Grange. The 35 mph speed limit is already a joke for the many scofflaw speedsters passing through our Valley and having nearly a half mile of straight road will serve as an invitation for them to "see what this baby will do." What has been a leisurely passageway through a scenic, pastoral Valley will now become an unregulated, unpatrolled race course, putting all who live in and commute through the Valley at risk.

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