Trash this trash
I have a concern about all rubbish and trash at the northwest corner of Murphy and Tennant avenues. The house has been vacant for years and even was used for a practice by fire department. It’s even encouraging people to dump trash on the other side of the road because it looks like nobody cares. This really looks bad for people coming to the soccer fields or the swimming pools (on Condit Road). It’s not only ugly, but it’s a potential health problem. Can you check on it to see why it hasn’t been cleaned up?
Reader, you are so right. We drive by that corner on Tennant Avenue a fair amount and hadn’t noticed anything. However, if you are driving on Murphy and look way back in the trees you can see a little abandoned house. But you don’t have to look anywhere to see the trash – it’s by the side of the road and back leading up to the house. When we stopped Saturday for a formal observation we found old overstuffed chairs, a broken ice chest, appliances and lots of debris.
According to records at Morgan Hill City Hall, James Sergie of Gilroy owns the land, which is in the county. We have been unable to get a response by phone so we have sent him a letter asking for his side of the story.
In the meantime, Ben Gale, director of the Santa Clara County Environmental Health Department, is on the case and says he would send an inspector out this week to take a look.
Sergei likely will receive a formal letter with a cleanup deadline, followed by a second warning before the matter is referred to the district attorney, though planning officials prefer to have property owners provide an abatement plan.
“That could take a while,” Gale said.
Bells, Bells, Bells
Ring my bell: “I’m calling about the bells lining the El Camino Real along Highway 101. You did a story on them a while ago. They’re up and they’re fun to spot, but how come it looks like they’re rusted out? They’re really not all that attractive.”
The Red Phone contacted John Kolstad with California Bells who said the rusted look was done on purpose.
“The bells were created to look old using natural oxidation or rust, as was the first bell installed in 1906,” Kolstad said. The reason for this is because of the need to maintain the bells.
“There was a concern regarding maintenance in the future. Caltrans was unsure if there would be money to repaint the bells, if painted, in the future,” Kolstad said, and added, “Most people compliment us on the appearance.”
The mission bells project follows the original El Camino Real, which linked the 21 California missions and follows much of U.S. 101, though not all.
The bell replacement project was set into motion four years ago, when Kolstad purchased the company that originally made the El Camino Real bells.
In 1998, he approached the owner of the California Bell Co., to buy one for his backyard. The man wouldn’t sell simply one bell, but he would sell the whole company, including the parts and molds that could be used to make new bells.
South of Los Angeles, El Camino Real departs from Caltrans freeways, but Kolstad is working with individual cities to put bells along the entire historic route, from the San Francisco de Solano Mission in Sonoma County to the San Diego de Alcalá Mission in San Diego County.
To read a complete Times article on the bells, visit www.morganhilltimes.com and search for “Mission Bells.” To learn more about the project, see www.californiabell. com/
n The Red Phone sounds off Saturday in The Times.
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