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Show 4 - THORNY TIMES - JULY 15, 1995 OUR ROADS Summer is a quiet time for the road department. John Blake is planning to take this opportunity to have the grader’s clutch replaced. Other repairs that can be managed only when the engine is pulled will be done also. We have seen a significant increase in goatheads this summer. This noxious weed is brought in by vehicle tires, mainly from Moab. The seeds are deposited on the roads where they lie dormant until enough timely moisture stimulates their growth. Such were the conditions this spring. The abundant late rains encouraged an epedemic of goat heads. else, check where you normally would use wheelbarrows, carts and bicycles to spare yoursevles numerous flat tires. Goathead removal needs to be a community project as one person’s driveway can contaminate the yards of any one who visits them. I would like to restate at this time two policies regarding road equipment, prompted by two requests received lately. 1) The Town can not sell to property owners culverts from their stockpile. This is due to complications that reselling could cause the Town (the Town does not pay taxes, for instance). 2) The grader is not available for private hire. The Town could be liable for any problems that might occur. Also important is the fact that our grader is relatively fragile and must be saved for community road use. . Road signs: our latest thoughts are to use the signs we already have, replacing the ones that are rotten and making new ones where needed. Replacing the old wooden posts with metal ones set at headlight level may be the anwer to the post rotting problem. We will be examining the current signs to see how many can be repainted and saved. This decision came out of the last road meeting when saving what we had seemed preferrable to buying a whole new set of signs. The road department is trying something new this year. John has ordered 2000 goathead-eating beatles. Raised in California, these beatles have proven their effectiveness and adaptability in Colorado. The beatles that survive the winter are supposed to adapt to our climate (vs. California’s) and multiply next year. This season we will continue our former policy of hand picking the spreading plants. Removal of the seeds requires more care than is possible with machinery. An interesting aside about goatheads: I heard an intriguing story recently as to how goatheads came to Moab (and thus to Castle Valley). Some years ago a circus came to town. Residents - Joan Sangree, Road Chair took the opportunity to fertilize their gardens with exotic manure: elephant droppings. The next year, voila! Amongst the CASTLE VALLEY RV vegetables and flowers appeared PARK an innocent looking ground Sometimes the old rumors are true. covering plant with pretty yellow Old minutes of the Grand County planblossoms. Few people probably ning commission show approval of a saw the mace-like seeds from very different Castle Valley develop which this plant grows. Because of ment. the seed’s tenacity, goatheads have Minutes from July 26, 1972, indicate 450 campsites at north end of become epidemic. I encourage everyone to scour your property for goatheads now, before the seeds set. Look in places big vehicles have passed. (We found some in a four year old septic line where virtually none were found last year.) If nothing valley plus 40 acre RV park...unanimous approval by both planning comm. and County Comm. Greenbelt lots were set aside along creek. These plans were finally changed in Feb. 1974 to the present residential use for Unit II. Jack Campbell MAP OF CASTLE VALLEY The map on the facing page is a convenient way to show friends and visitors how to get to your house in Castle Valley. You can mark the location of your house to help your friends find your place in the dark, etc. Make up a couple extra copies if you wish to send directions often. It may also be useful to show lost visitors where their friends live. Now if we can get the road signs fixed... Map was created by Jim Smouse. Fire, from page 1 weeds in the center can ignite a fire that might quickly spread. Keeping the weeds and grass short in the center of the road will alleviate this potential hazard. Additionally, care should be taken to remove as much June grass as possible surrounding your home or other buildings. A ten or fifteen foot barrier would be sufficient. Vie should all remember that this is not a safe or legal time to purposefully burn anything, including trash in a barrel. As a final note, remember fire meetings are every second and last Thursday of the month, at 6 pm at the firestation. The next meeting will be Thursday, July 27. Currently, the CV fire department has only four members. Please consider coming to a meeting. Thanks... Karen Clark HEARTFELT THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED PUT OUT MY FIRE —KAO INTERSTATE HIGHWAY THROUGH MOAB? Something about “bad ideas never die.” Some Moab booster is once again trying to get the Canada—Mexico Hwy to pass through Moab. What fun! Hopefully, bigger and greedier Chambers of Commerce will take it through western Utah into Arizona. |