• strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_argument::init() should be compatible with views_handler::init(&$view, $options) in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_argument.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter::options_validate() should be compatible with views_handler::options_validate($form, &$form_state) in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_filter.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter::options_submit() should be compatible with views_handler::options_submit($form, &$form_state) in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_filter.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter_node_status::operator_form() should be compatible with views_handler_filter::operator_form(&$form, &$form_state) in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/modules/node/views_handler_filter_node_status.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /home/glencoenews/www/www/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.

Time is seemingly running out on street project

Nothing says welcome to Minnesota than looking at a torn up street in front of your house … amid snowflakes!
The gallows humor of Minnesotans claims there are only two seasons in this state — construction and winter. Sunday, it was a combination of the two looking out my front room window.
Even the neighborhood squirrels seem a bit confused. As I was standing near my long gone curb and gutter peering into the gaping hole that was once 14th Street, I noticed a squirrel doing the same thing. It also seemed to be thinking: What the heck happened here?
There was a feeling when the crews began dismantling 14th Street and Judd Avenue Oct. 2, that things may not end well. Anything weather-wise can happen in October. Remember the Halloween snowstorm of 1991?
Will it get done in time? Can the curb and gutter plus the street paving be done in time? What happens if weather does not cooperate? What’s Plan B?
We have seen signs for concern.
Last week, as my wife and I walked past the Johnson-McBride Funeral Chapel, we noticed the week’s worth of rain had ponded in its not-yet-paved parking lot. It had been gathering rain like a poor man’s “surge pond.” The city would be proud.
Then temperatures dipped below freezing. Voila, an instant ice pond. Where’d I put my ice skates? Then I realized I didn’t have any. I gave away the skates years ago after someone made fun of how old and ancient they looked.
Another indicator of winter’s early arrival came with the reconstruction of 14th Street. Since we are getting a new water main, the work crew connected us to a temporary water line. The plastic piping is stretched across the three yards in the neighborhood, and as the temperatures dipped lower, the crews came back to place tarps over the lines so they wouldn’t freeze. We also left the in-house taps running a trickle of water so those pipes don’t freeze, too.
I’m no stranger to frozen water pipes coming from International Falls. I once had to sneak under the crawl space under my old house with a blow torch to thaw out some frozen lines. By the way, I was a lot smaller back then. Today, there is not enough butter in the world to get me in and out of that kind of tight space!
Also, squeezing into a crawl space with a blow torch is not a wise move either. There was not much distance between the blow torch and my face. Thought I’d work on my tan while I was down there.
So on Sunday, here we are on 14th Street with a partially destroyed street, snow on the mounds of dirt and heavy equipment, and the calendar indicating it is nearly mid-October. I think there needs be be bit of urgency placed on this scenario. We are running out of time before winter officially wins out.
While our city officials and engineers keep reassuring us it will get done in time, they are hedging their bets with “I hope.”
Not sure “I hope” works in this case. I do not want to have my temporary water line on top of my yard when December arrives. Umm. Now that I think about it, I have a crawl space in my current house, too.

(Long pause)

Ah, forget it!