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FODHS
12/16/07
We
Are Hard At Work This Sunday Morning
Making The Streets Safer For Our Children
Some of the Americorps Girls
pose just before we start work.
This project would not have happened without Dean Gray and
Russell Bett's efforts.
City worker arrives early
morning to help
Half way finished moving a
large dirt mound (pedestrian obstruction) on busy
West Drive just south of Mission Lakes Blvd
FODHS founder and Americorps
Americorps digs hole to slide
large rock (pedestrian obstruction) into
Dean Gray and City tractor
pushing rock into hole
Dean Gray is the conductor at
our side walk symphony
FODHS Founder getting his
morning (afternoon and early evening) exercise
One pedestrian obstruction
almost removed and about a dozen more to go
New Pictures
Below
Finished relocating the mound
obstruction
Russ Betts and Dean Gray
installing "Safe-In-30" sign
See the nice new path
Greasewood bush obstruction got
to go to make a clear path and eventual side walk
CBS2 at right. Desert Sun photographer stopped by later.
Councilman Russell Betts works elbow
to elbow
even though he was suffering from a very bad cold
AmeriCorps volunteer with his
visiting family at lunch break
Lunch break. Don Sholtee
and Russell Betts discuss the day's events
Lunch break. Everyone
tells were they are from and plan to go with their lives
The obstructions are quickly
accumulating. We are only half thru with West Drive.
Around 3:30PM we started on the
high end of Palm Drive just south of Mission Lakes Blvd
We still have a very few obstructions left on the east side of
West Drive
and on the east side of Palm Drive a couple blocks south of
Mission Lakes Blvd.
But we removed the vast majority of them today!
We all put it a full hard days work.
Evening ends (for me at least)
with a free dinner compliments of the Capri Restaurant
Volunteers also get a free stay at the Shilla Hotel with (of
course) free use of the hot mineral baths
PRESS
RELEASE
DHS Sidewalk Task Force
Event Date: Sunday December 16th 2007
Location: Desert Hot Springs
We
Are Hard At Work This Sunday Morning
Making The Streets Safer For Our Children
We
are here to work. Work is what brought us together today. We
work to make safe pathways. Dirt will move. Rocks will move.
We will move plants and trash. But today is bigger than that.
Today we move a community. Our work today moves an entire
community. Desert Hot Springs will no longer be the same.
Our
help arrives in the form of AmeriCorps*NCCC. Your example of
service is the sweat and labor that makes America great. Your
contribution sets a lasting example of what it means to have
friends. Friends who help. Once you move this dirt, you move
this community and that makes you no stranger to us ...but our
friends.
On
this spot tragedy struck. A young girls life was lost here as
she walked beside fast traffic. We are working today to make
safe paths to prevent future tragedies. We will never forget
Carisa who was murdered by a wandering vehicle and the
suffering that moved this community to change the path we were
on.
Our
people walk in streets with fast traffic because we have no
curbs, no sidewalks. Our city grew too fast and we forgot
about the safety of curbs and sidewalks. Today that's changed.
These dirt paths we are cleaning up and creating are first
steps towards pedestrian safety, to attract our people to walk
off the pavement out of the direct flow of traffic.
We
will be working today to clear safe paths in several
pedestrian danger zones in the city. You will be protected as
best we can so you are not at risk of danger yourself. The
work you are doing will save lives. Women walking baby
strollers, small children, handicapped people in wheelchairs
and the elderly all are walking in our busy streets. The safe
dirt paths that you make today gives people a chance to walk
safe.
These
dirt paths are vital to save lives now. Yet, there will soon
come a time when your work will be buried by asphalt and
concrete. But nothing is forgotten. The dirt and rocks you
move are the foundation for the concrete sidewalks to come. We
will watch these dirt paths turn into beautiful concrete
sidewalks with beautiful landscaping and always remember the
work you did today.
We
will never forget Carisa. Your work will always be remembered.
This is the path you make today. The dirt you move makes
history. It's a history of helping people.
We
welcome you to Desert Hot Springs. Thank you AmeriCorps*NCCC.
And thank each and every one of you today.
Dean
Gray
12/12/07 story link
AmeriCorps
OK from Washington DC
to clear dirt paths in high traffic danger zones
Exclusive to FODHS (staff report)
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