Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Page A-3
Collapsed bridge hampers access for medical and fire service
Jason McMillen
IVN Contributing Writer
The Three Mill Bridge in
Selma collapsed after enduring the
unusually precipitous weather of
December and January. Because of
the heavy rains and snowmelt the
stream’s banks were eroded away
and, as a consequence, the bridge
was washed out. The bridge itself
was constructed out of a rail car that
was donated by Rough and Ready
Mill 15 years ago.
Despite reaching out and
being extensively briefed by FEMA
with regards to the application
process, the residents found out that
unexpectedly and to their surprise,
they didn’t qualify for funding
after all. Unfortunately, the county
government can’t financially help
them either. Because of this, the
residents of the Three Mill Bridge
area must raise the funds personally
or suffer the consequences including
extreme fire hazard and lack of
expedient medical coverage.
Speaking on the county’s
side of things Rob Brandis with
Public Works said that the bridge
and road leading up to it cannot be
maintained by the county because
the infrastructure is not up to code.
“The underlying premise is that if
those facilities are brought up to
county standards by the developers,
or in this case the local residents,
the county will accept them into our
maintenance.”
Unfortunately, bringing the
bridge and road up to standard
would be prohibitively expensive
for private individuals because the
bridge alone would cost an estimated
million dollars. That being said, if
the bridge was constructed up to
standard it would likely last around
75 years as opposed to 15.
Brandis also explained that the
county maintains around 565 miles
of road, but there’s probably about
another 200 miles of nonmaintained
roads around the county. “We always
encourage folks in these situations
to be thinking long-term in terms
of having some kind of local road
maintenance fund,” said Brandis.
Illinois Valley Fire Chief
Dennis Hoke shared his thoughts on
the problem. “The bridge standard is
kind of a big issue with the county
so we fight this battle even with
other bridges that we can’t take fire
trucks across… It’s a big problem
when you have private bridges that
are not maintained and inspected.”
Adding to his statement, Hoke said
that private bridges continue to be
a problem all over the state but are
particularly concentrated in the
Illinois Valley. He would like to see
the county enforce the state bridge
requirements and not a “watered
down” minimum standard by county
ordinance. So far they have not.
Compounding the problem is that
private bridges are often unmarked
with regards to how much weight
they can support so it is basically
guesswork if they can drive their fire
truck across in a time of need.
“I have a truck that weighs
56,000 pounds. How do I know that
that bridge is going to support it?”
Hoke asked rhetorically. Continuing
on, Hoke said that fire trucks fall
through private bridges all the time
with one example having occurred
in Applegate about two years ago
and the consequences, because they
couldn’t respond to the fire, were
severe.
The residents of the Three
Mill Bridge have started a Facebook
GoFundMe account run primarily by
Norm Cegelnik. “Our neighborhood
is kicking in,” Cegelnik said, “Our
family and friends are all kicking in
and my daughter Holly is collecting
money. We look like we might be
about halfway toward getting the
bridge started.” However, there are
other related projects that need to
be tended to aside from the bridge
which will require additional
funding.
About 20 families regularly
use the bridge and as it stands now
the only way in and out is via a long
detour that heavy vehicles cannot
traverse. When there is significant
rainfall, and thus mud, only four
wheel drive vehicles can reliably
any other I come across in a day
at the office and I feel like I need
to apologize for coming across as
insensitive. I am not a cold-hearted
person who has zero concern for the
people around me, the ones that have
lost someone important to them. It’s
just that after 50 years on this planet,
I still don’t know how to respond.
By DAN MANCUSO,
Every person is different, there is no
Publisher
one-size-fits-all response, so in my
mind, I treat them as I would any
other person that comes in.
I often deal with folks who come in to
Generally speaking, I try to
the newspaper office with either an obituary
be true to me, who I am, the “real Dan.” But,
of a loved one or looking for a copy of an
there are people out there who seem to like
obituary that ran. I treat the interaction like
to wear masks. Depending on the part they
Life in the
Valley
of Riches
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Three Mill Creek bridge Friday, Jan 20.
enter or escape.
“The nightmare has been from
FEMA funding,” Cegelnik said,
“They wasted a lot of our time…
We need to get this done before the
first of July because that’s when
they have their regulations kick in.”
When the residents of Three Mill
Bridge accrue $20,000, a specialized
contractor will start the repairs.
Because there’s no equipment
available and powerful enough to
lift the 60,000 pound railcar, it will
are playing at the moment, determines which
mask they put on. I am sure in their mind they
are doing what’s appropriate for the moment.
The problem with masks is I never know
who I am dealing with. I am left wondering,
who is the person behind the mask? Is that
big smile really a genuine smile, or is it a
mask? Oh heck, since I am being me, I will be
brutally honest, the person is being fake.
I have a strong distaste for fake people.
Yes, I want to be liked, and at times it does
bother me when people don’t like me. But
really at the end of the day, I think, “Do I
really want to be liked enough to be fake?
Then, am I really liked at all, the fake me?” I
doubt it.
The downside to being real in all
have to be hoisted up by an array of
helical piers.
In addition, the Illinois Valley
Soil and Water Conservation District
will ensure that erosion does not
wash out their bridge a second time.
Fortunately, this work might be
covered by a federal grant.
“That’s the main problem,
not being prepared for fire season,”
Cegelnik concluded like Hoke, “If
someone needs an ambulance they
could die before they get to them.”
situations is that some people do not
appreciate who you are. I think that is OK
too. I have put the world into four quarters:
25 percent of the people will love you no
matter what you do; 25 percent of the people
will dislike you, no matter what you do;
and the remaining two quarters can be split
between people who dislike you but could
be convinced to like you, and the opposite,
people who like you but could be convinced
not to.
Life is short and unless you enjoy being
fake, I suggest you spend your time on this
rock playing the bit part you were assigned at
birth, being you.
Thank you for picking up this week’s
paper, enjoy! ~ djm