HAVE ALIENS LANDED? There is a huge white rectangle up in the
east hills (north of Cochrane Road) along U.S. 101. What is it and
why is it there?
HAVE ALIENS LANDED?
There is a huge white rectangle up in the east hills (north of Cochrane Road) along U.S. 101. What is it and why is it there?
Thank you caller. We’ve wondered about this ourselves and just needed a query from you to make a few calls. It’s a federally required liner, made of polyurethane, for a new section of the landfill (that’s the dump to most of us) up in Kirby Canyon off Coyote Creek Golf Drive.
According to Mike Hannon, deputy director of Environmental Services for the City of San Jose, said the liner is designed to reduce seepage from all that icky garbage and trash into the underground water table – the very water that people eventually drink.
San Jose’s garbage will begin to cover up the white liner within the next month or two, Hannon said, making it less visible. Previous new “cells” of garbage, he said, have had the same liner underneath, though they may have been a different, less visible color. And they will have covered a different area. Liners are laid down before each new “cell” or area begins to be filled. And the Kirby Canyon landfill has plenty of space left. It is operated by Waste Management, a nationwide group based in Texas.
For the record, this is San Jose’s garbage. Our Morgan Hill trash is trucked to another landfill in Pacheco Pass, east of Gilroy.
An environmental impact report (EIR) on the landfill required a minimum visual impact on the area (that’s us). Hammond said, once the liner is covered with garbage, the impact will be minimal.
To reduce the trash going into the landfills, the state requires cities to recycle 50 percent of their refuse – or it will cost them – and Morgan Hill is skating close to the edge. Are we all taking advantage of the city’s efficient recycling programs?
For easy recycling details: From the city: 779-7247 or en*****@***************ca.gov or from South Valley Disposal and Recycling: www.sunsetscavenger.com/svdr/
Mosquito abatement
“I’m calling about a recent article on West Nile virus. When I was in Modesto last year, they had dragonflies by the thousands. They were to eat all the mosquitoes in the area, including those with West Nile. I’m wondering if we’ve ever tried it in Morgan Hill. Thank you.”
The Red Phone checked with Kriss Costa of the Santa Clara County Vector Control District, who said dragonflies aren’t always effective.
“As a natural predator to use against mosquitoes, they do eat some mosquitoes. But they’re not a real effective deterrent because there are so many of them out there,” Costa said. “So no, we don’t think about turning them loose. … If somebody has a pond, we have mosquito fish that are very effective, but even those, in an area flooded with mosquito larvae, need help cutting the numbers down. So it’s not something we normally do.”
Costa said residents should check their yards and eliminate any standing water where larvae will thrive.
So, caller, looks like the Red Phone will stick around … and so will the mosquitoes.
Next Saturday Red Phone will answer a caller’s question on new entrance fees and scheduling for the summer at the Aquatics Center.
n The Red Phone sounds off Saturday in The Times.
We invite you to call us 24/7 to ask questions, report a complaint, give us a tip, offer an amusing tale of the short variety or just want people to know about something to do with Morgan Hill and the surrounding territory. We’ll check it out and have the answer in an upcoming column. Have a question about the paper? A complaint about garbage on the city street? A compliment about your good neighbor?
Leave us a message on the Red Phone at 779-4106, x206. We won’t print your name or share it with others.
And for you Red Phone fanatics stuck at work and not able to pick up the phone and comment? Well, do we have a solution for you! Now you can sneak onto www.morganhilltimes.com, click the Red Phone icon and quietly e-mail your comments. Or E-mail direct to re******@*************es.com
