Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2012)
http://www.theclackamasprint.com Wednesday,Oct. 10,2012 $ www.TheClackamasPrint.com Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR An independent, student-run newspaper since 1966 can ■ co m ^ ^ rs^ fO reg o n i ^i^iiùsihës'sroWher^, Brad Heineke Photo Editor It has been a long two years during the closure of a 90-year- old bridge. The historic Oregon City-West Linn Arch Bridge will reopen at 5 a.m. October 15. The bridge, which spans the Willamette River below the falls and begins the south end of Oregon State Route 43, has been a landmark and source of pride for the community since its opening in December 1922. The 745-foot- long bridge replaced a wooded suspension walking bridge that was built in 1888. The bridge has played a part in many fun and colorful aspects of ha.*» been a i figurative trophy in the 92-je.u- old high school football rivalry between Oregon Cit\ and West LinU ,efteri called the longest T hebridgehasbeenstrength ened to better withstand earth quakes, the replica 1922 light ing has been replaced and the lighting improved overall and its ''guard 'fails are "sturdier accord- ! rivalry west o f the Mississippi. B. The winning city “owns” the mg to the Oregon Department o f Transportation, which owns the bridge for a year. In years past, the OCHS Pioneers team, students and marching band would parade across the bridge to the nearby West Linn High School for their game. “Battle for the Bridge” is in fact the name of the alumni fun draising game between the two high schools, which this year raised over $20,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As it approached a century old, this famous bridge was in need of major maintenance and reha bilitation repairs. It was closed to traffic including pedestrians, Jan. 15,2011. The Arch Bridge is a steel bridge covered with concrete. As part of the project, workers removed the concrete, repaired the steel where necessary and then re-sprayed the concrete. bridge. The city is very excited about the reopening o f the bridge. Doug Neeley Oregon City Mayor The bridge could not be wid ened, but some of its posts were moved back five inches to give “We actually had a few move, drivers slightly more room. Being on the National Register of but the Main Street Oregon Cifi Historic Places, it could only be ¡Mfcganization has done a great jo i» restored, so essentially looks the ?with promoting and has recruited 1 twice as many as we lost,” Neelej; same as it did originally. This was the first major reno said. “W ith the recently completei 1 vation done on the bridge .sines at,, $2.5, million streetscape improve^- was built. The construction costs merit project and the renovatl for the project are at $14.6 mil ed bridge, we anticipate a nice lion. Nearly 90 percent of this has been paid with federal funds. In 1922, the bridge was constructed for $300,000. “ODOT has been proud to work on this bridge,” stated Susan Hanson o f ODOT. “We have worked closely with the local businesses, residents, and Com muters throughout the project and appreciate their patience in the rehabilitation of this regional trea sure.” Oregon City’s mayor agreed. “The city is very excited about the reopening of the bridge,” said Oregon City Mayor Doug Neeley. “There’s no question that the proj ect has been an obstacle to some of the downtown businesses.” Downtown Oregon City even lost a few businesses during the construction.. increase in business downtown.” More than 13,500 vehicles use the bridge on average per day; This route cuts several miles- of congested intersections off a regu lar commuters’ drive. Several hun dreds of pedestrians arid cyclists also use the bridge daily. It provides a convenient link from West Linn to downtown Oregon City, as well as access to the Tri-Met transit center. Bus line 35 Macadam and 154 Willamette used to- cross the old bridge. The narrow bridge was a tight squeeze for these larger vehicles, as traffic would generally stop at the center span so the buses could pass through, taking up most of both lanes. Please see BRIDGE, Pagri 3 N ew cross-country coach brings his ‘A’ gam e Andrew Miilbrooke Sports Editor I f there is any sport that toils in more obscurity than cross country, I have yet to find it. To run cross coun try successfully, you must put in the mileage. That means hour after hour of punishing work. Early mornings and late night runs to get that sec ond workout for the day. I f you don’t put in the work and build the background base, you simply' will not succeed against well trained runners. New Head Cross Country coach Jerret Mantalas says his current group o f run ners did everything he asked over the summer in prepara tion for the season. “As a whole, people were willing to get after it,” said Mantalas. “That’s one thing I ’ve been really happy about.” Mantalas has been associ ate head coach for the past two seasons under head track and field coach Keoni McHone at Clackam as Com m unity College and previously worked as an assistant at Western Oregon University. “H e’s on time and works hard, so he expects the same from those around him,” said M cHone o f Mantalas. “The athletes can see that he is excited for their sport and they feed o ff that.” M antalas looks young enough to be an athlete at Clackamas and McHone said that his “energy level” sets him apart from others, “H e’s a good fit for the program,” said CGC Athletic Director Jim Martineau. “Since he’s been here w e’ve increased our numbers.” Currently over 20 athletes are practicing daily with the cross country teams. Sophomore Cia Bywater has led thé women this season and has made a huge impres sion on her head coach. “Cia Bywater is a person you build a cross country team around,” said Mantalas. “She is our leader in every aspect that we do.” Byw ater set a personal record for 5,000-meters dur ing the 6,000-meter race at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle on Sep. 15. Bywater finished 25th overall with a 23:08.59 clocking; “It was a very ex cit ing race,” said Bywater.. “It was cool to P.R.” By water is adjusting to dealing with M antalas’ sarcasm. “I like him, he’s definitely one o f the best coaches,” said Bywater. “H e’s a little sarcastic at times, but h e’s pretty cool.” Please see COACH, Page 7 MANTALAS
