Q: Why are Mark Ponder's billboards still up all over town? He died in July. It's kind of unsettling and it must be hard on his family and friends.

-- Numerous callers and writers

A: We contacted the Fresno office of CBS Outdoor, the billboard company that handled Ponder's account. Trenton Suntrapak, who manages that office, e-mailed this response last Thursday:

"We are saddened by the untimely death of our longtime client, Mark Ponder. The billboards bearing his image will be replaced shortly."

Q: I don't know if I have an opinion, or a question. I heard some disturbing news today from a friend. I was told that our local court, now owned and operated by the state, has dictated when our Liberty Bell can be rung. Local citizens, groups, committees, etc. wishing to celebrate special occasions by briefly ringing our Liberty Bell are restricted to noon to 1 p.m.

This is apparently because it "disturbs the court." ... Perhaps there should be limitations of frequency and duration of bell ringing, but limiting it to one hour per day seems like trampling on our First Amendment rights to me.

...Does the court do this and why?

- H. Edward Lynch Jr.

A: Yes, the state has asked that the bell ringing be limited to the lunch hour so the noise does not interfere with court proceedings, said Bob Lerude, director of the Kern County Parks and Recreation Department.

But on one recent occasion, a group wanted to ring the bell before noon and the state made an exception, he said.

The timing of Liberty Bell ringing really wasn't an issue until about a year, year and a half ago when the bell was rung for an event and a deputy came out and asked it be stopped because of the noise, Lerude said. It's since then that the state has wanted the timing limited.

Q: I was wondering what is going on with the fountain between the new police and fire station on Buena Vista Road. It has been broken for over a year.

Does the city ever plan on repairing it?

- Bill Jones

A: Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy tracked this one down. Here's what he found: The fountain did not have an automatic filling device and the pump burned out. The pubic safety guys were apparently so busy they didn't notice. It is now assigned to the Bakersfield Fire Department and should get up and running soon.

Q: What are the flashing blue lights in the oilfields that can be seen at night from the Panorama Bluffs?

- George Richaud

A: We answered this in September 2008 but for those who missed it, here's what we learned:

The blue locator strobe lights mark the automatic well testing sites (and the equipment required to do the testing), said Roger Christy, spokesperson for Chevron.

They are used by the night operators to locate the sites on hazy and foggy nights. In other words, the blue lights are a safety feature.

"Before we installed them, the engineer who was in charge of the project stood on the bluffs to look at the lights we already had at the gates to make sure that more lights were not going to be a distraction," Christy said. "We didn't want them to be overly bright."

Ask The Californian appears twice a week. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.