Our first Red Phone caller of the week, a Hollister woman, asked
the Crimson Crusader to find out if students who walk down Meridian
and Santa Ana Road to school will have cross a highway after the
Highway 25 bypass is complete.
Our first Red Phone caller of the week, a Hollister woman, asked the Crimson Crusader to find out if students who walk down Meridian and Santa Ana Road to school will have cross a highway after the Highway 25 bypass is complete.
The Crimson Crusader called County Transportation Planning Manager Mary Dinkuhn to find the answer. Dinkuhn said the bypass won’t be “a highway.” It will be what those in the business call an “urban arterial street” – in other words it will be a four-lane road with stoplights and crosswalks.
Dinkuhn said student safety was taken into account during the bypass planning process. Dinkuhn also asked the Crimson Crusader to let readers know that questions such as our caller’s will be answered at a coming meeting. Council of Governments officials will hold a Highway 25 bypass open house from 4pm to 7pm June 5 at Veterans Memorial Hall on San Benito Street to answer questions such as this. Everyone is welcome to attend this meeting, she said.
A Whale of a Question
Our next Red Phone caller of the week, a local Hollister mother, asked if the water-squirting whale tail at the Valley View Park would be operational this summer.
The Crimson Crusader called Hollister Parks Supervisor Marcello Orta to get the answer. Brace yourself, dearest caller; the news isn’t good. Orta informed our hero that the whale will remained closed throughout the summer and the rest of the year. He said the park’s water feature is expensive to maintain and was cut earlier this year with approval from the Hollister City Council.
Code Enforcement Officer Reads Minds
Our next Red Phone caller, a Hollister woman and good friend of the Crimson Crusader, asked our hero to get something done about a blighted building in Ridgemark. The building used to be a real estate office, our caller said.
The Crimson Crusader called County Code Enforcement Officer Stacey Watson to see what could be done. Watson said she had just gone out to inspect the building in question and was forwarding the case to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as the property poses several fire risks. Watson said she was on the case and would be working with other agencies to take care of the problem. So there you have it, dearest caller; it’s almost as if Watson was reading your mind.
Problem Solved
Our final Red Phone caller of the week, a Hollister woman, called the Crimson Crusader to say “Thank you.” Our caller had previously reported two-foot tall grass growing in front of a home on Howard Street in Hollister. The home was abandoned and the grass, in addition to being an eyesore, was becoming a fire hazard.
Our caller reported the grass had been cut and the problem had been handled to her satisfaction. Well, it certainly feels good to be appreciated dearest caller, but the real credit for the work goes to Hollister Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless.
