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One person--and one blogger--can make a difference
A TBC editorial that will be in tomorrow's paper just went up on the Editorials blog, citing "Californian reader and letter to the editor writer Curtis Dalton" for waging a 10-year campaign to get Caltrans to post signs warning of the dangers of swimming in the Kern River at the mouth of the canyon, a campaign that has finally paid off. B.commers will recognize that name, and know that not only is he a TBC reader and letter writer, but a longtime Bakersfield.com blogger and commenter, our own CurtDalton. Good work, Curt. Congratulations, and thank you. 19 comments from 9 users
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posted by
antiextremism
on May 22, 2007 at 05:05 PM
Way to go Curt! Now if we can just get a warning sign that says "Don't run Sheriffs off the cliff in a meth induced stupor while packing a gun and then sue the County for negligence." posted by
adampayne
on May 22, 2007 at 06:47 PM
Congratulations, Curt! Great job in getting the word out on safety! People just don't seem to realize how fast, and treacherous, the Kern River truly is. If I'm not mistaken it is the fastest running river in the US. Thanks for your fine efforts!
posted by
NancyII
on May 22, 2007 at 09:13 PM
Adam..as I remember it, the Kern has the steepest descent per mile of any river in the US making it, as you say, the fastest running river. One of the worst places is Richbar where the water usually looks like glass but has a wicked and deadly undertow. Our old motto/warning is never strong enough but we must keep saying it. STAY OUT / STAY ALIVE. posted by
anonymous
on May 22, 2007 at 09:33 PM
I know this is a stupid question, but is the sign going to display the warning in Spanish?
posted by
NancyII
on May 22, 2007 at 10:04 PM
Not a stupid question at all. At the risk of getting anny/redkern/panfilo all riled up..you might notice that most of the drownings in the Kern are Hispanic and mostly from the Southland. The present signs haven't had much impact but maybe brightly lit ones will. I know I pay more attention when I see one of those all lit up saying "high winds" or "clickit or ticket.".
posted by
anonymous
on May 22, 2007 at 10:13 PM
That is why I asked if the signs are going to be in Spanish. Most of the victims have a Spanish surname, and come from east LA. I say that if you are stupid enough to ignore the warnings, the KCSO S&R should not respond to recover the bodies. Let the fish eat to their hearts content.
posted by
CurtDalton
on May 23, 2007 at 01:08 PM
I just got back in town after a Banzai-Run to the coast to fix my bosses computer and while driving back I received a call from my wife telling me about the editorial. WHAT A NICE SURPRISE!
I am overjoyed this will finally come to fruition and hopefully this year we'll have a lower death toll on the Kern River and it will reflect my hard work and persistence. While I have been a frequent pain-in-the-ass to Caltrans and state breaucrats to make this come to pass, I would be remis in not mentioning the role The Bakersfield Californian has had in making this a reality.
Over the years, it would have been easy for Dianne Hardisty or any other member of the editorial staff to assign my letters to the "circular file"instead of printing them and this probably would have died for lack of interest. But the Californian saw the potential for this to save lives and continued to publish my letters and write editorials of their own urging Caltrans to adopt this simple method of warning visitors to Kern County to stay out of the Kern River and finally (finally!) it looks like it has paid off.
Thanks Californian !
posted by
sagefever
on May 23, 2007 at 04:09 PM
Kudos Mr.Dalton~I congratulate you on this accomplishment.The nay sayers speak volumes..mostly about them~ selves and mostly not good.You deserve to bask in the warm glow of doing a good thing!
posted by
jasonsperber
on May 23, 2007 at 04:25 PM
Two commenters will find their comments, directed at each other, missing here, because of a plenitude of personal attacks and namecalling at each other. It is unfortunate, because hidden amongst the insults were legitimate opinions and areas of disagreement based on the posters' personal experiences. I hope you both can refrain from the personal insults and attacks on each other if you choose to repost the cores of your arguments.
posted by
anonymous
on May 23, 2007 at 04:31 PM
I hear you I set around at Caltrans for many years playing cards with traffic and safety engineers waiting for letter like Curt Dalton, before we could do anything about any problem. But as soon as we heard the the Californian was going to expose the public to the wisdom of chronic complainers we could would run over each other to get the work done.
And by the way, the more they hated us the more good work we gave them. posted by
anonymous
on May 23, 2007 at 04:43 PM
For the Californian to suggest that Caltrans would not act on a safety problem and wait for complaints form a chronic Caltrans hater is an absurdity that deserves to be exposed.
The Californian dose a disservice when it encourages those whose hate for the Department and the good people who work for them a "Hero". Actions such as these not only make the Californian not creditable, but encourages outrageous conduct by uniformed critics. posted by
CurtDalton
on Feb 7, 2008 at 09:38 AM
Soon, warmer weather will be upon us and it will be time for the “powers that be” to decide whether the Caltrans changeable message signs will again warn visitors to Kern County to stay out of the Kern River. This time our politicians will have to contend with a small but vocal contingent of people who are worried these signs will scare tourist dollars away from their businesses. These merchants base their opposition to these signs on “gut-instinct” rather than verifiable statistical data. In short - They are more concerned with selling a few six-packs of beer and a bag of Doritos to the tourists than seeing to it these tourists live to visit Kern County again next year: Like an empty soda can, these tourists are disposable! Last year, during the time these changeable message signs were in place in Kern Canyon, NOT ONE SINGLE DROWNING OCCURRED! This is unprecedented! (There was one drowning North of Kernville but this was NOT an area covered by the Caltrans changeable message signs.) The statistics speak for themselves: These changeable message signs save lives.
Dean Florez: (661) 395-2620 http://dist16.casen.govoffi... Nicole Parra: (661) 334–3745 http://democrats.assembly.c... Roy Ashburn: (661)-323-0443 http://republican.sen.ca.go... Jean Fuller: (661) 395-2995 http://republican.assembly.... Thanks again for your support in helping visitors to Kern County be aware of the dangers of the Kern River. Curt posted by
sagefever
on Feb 7, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Thanks for the heads up Curt!
posted by
CurtDalton
on Feb 7, 2008 at 09:56 AM
After all the work I put in on this I don't want these signs to go away due to lack of attention. They honestly save lives and need to be brought back again this year. Thanks for your support Sage! posted by
sagefever
on Feb 7, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Para's web site will only accept your email if your in her area,so she will be getting a call. All the others email address's worked fine.
posted by
ChicoEsquela
on Feb 7, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Kern River + mucho cervezas = SAR callouts! Stay out or add to statistics! posted by
CurtDalton
on Feb 7, 2008 at 02:02 PM
Chico- It's too damn bad folks come to the Kern River from the LA area thinking it's just a small, peaceful river they can swim and frolic in to their hearts content to get a little respite from the blistering summer heat. We "locals" know better (or should anyway) and stay out of the water but out of complete ignorance visitors to Kern County get into the water, get into trouble and pay for it with their lives. It's so unnecessary. If placing these signs out there to educate people work, it's a small price to pay. Certainly less than the cost of a Search & Rescue call-out or body recovery. Hell, Caltrans wastes more money than that a year on yellow stripe paint that has gone bad! posted by
ChicoEsquela
on Feb 8, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Por seguro Curt: queda fuera- queda vivo
Guess they don't listen to Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard Maybe Freddy Fender? posted by
CurtDalton
on Feb 8, 2008 at 01:35 PM
Chico: Judging by the drowning stats they don't read either but hey, you gotta try. When it comes to the Kern River ignorance is NOT bliss - It's deadly.
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