The Udey Enigma

It's been 16 days since we had our last real snow and by this time next week the ground should be clear of all snow. We're way behind last year in snowfall but . . .is that a bad thing?

I suppose you are wondering about the warmer and wetter then average January prediction. Well we had less then half the normal precipitation (.54 inches of water compared to 1.25 inches on average) and the average temperature was 10.6 compared to 17.0.

So what happened? Simple - NOAA guess wrong. Predicting long term weather is like gambling. NOAA looks at the current pattern of weather and then looks at all the other times in history we had the same patterns. From El Nino to La Nina to all of the other things happening in the U.S. and world. Then they make an educated guess. It's exactly like handicapping sports. Well, this time they lost.

For the next month AND the next three month period NOAA is going out on a limb and predicting average weather. A blob of higher precip in Ohio and Indiana but for us - normal precipitation. They are predicting the southern states to bee cooler for the summer but we're average.
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Udey Dam.

I know just enough information to get into trouble but that is my forte' getting into trouble. On the upside is that sometimes saying something totally wrong will bring out facts that were not known and SOMETIMES I will stumble upon actual knowledge.

As Kris says it's nice to have someone like me around because I'm not afraid to piss people off. What she is actually saying is that I have no friends so it does not matter who's toes I step on. And there are a LOT of toes in this town to step on.

First I want to give Left Hand Louies take on the Uday dam thing and then I will throw my awesome internet weight into the water (have I ever mentioned I had a relative drowned as a witch outside Salem? we have been able to trace our heritage back to the early 1000s in England on my moms side, my dad was an American Indian so not too far on that side).

The dam, which is cleverly hidden past the end of Udey St, (I can't even find Udey street in Google) held back the waters of the Crawfish River creating the millpond which was adjacent to Rotary Park. During the flooding of 2004 it was suspected that the foundation may have been compromised. Divers supposedly found erosion at the base of the dam and subsequently the millpond was drained.

Since then there have been conflicting studies by structural engineers. The latest (post 2008 flooding) study basically says that the dam would be OK if some minor(ish) repairs were made.

To complicate matters somewhat the DNR is on a kick to remove all unnecessary (my word) dams.

My understanding is that no state or federal monies are available for repair or removal. Based on what I've read it would be more expensive to repair (and maintain) the dam than remove it.

Those that support removal of the dam are, from what I understand, looking at it from a purely fiscal standpoint. There are a few as well that think that the dam contributes to the flooding problems of the past.

Proponents of repair primarily consist of longtime Columbus residents and homeowners upstream of the dam. Homeowners claim reduced property values because they no longer have "waterfront" property. Longtime residents have fond memories of millpond recreation.

Both sides have staked aesthetic claims.

I have my own views that change every half hour and I can see both sides. I think I'll keep these views to myself at the moment. It's funny - problems like this make me think of "What would I do in SIM City". Make the SIMS happy which has many benefits, but, how many SIMS will it really make happy or be fiscally responsible for the long run (and when I say long I mean hundreds of years).

hmmmmm
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The Columbus Mayoral Debate will be held tonight at the Senior Center starting at 6:30 (I have not heard if donuts, snacks or foot long hot dogs will be available). I urge all of you to vote in the upcoming Primary. The reason is that only about 600 people vote and ANYTHING can happen.
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Well - that email thing on the left side is working wonderfully isn't it. Takes 24 hours to get the blog. Now THAT is technology.

Did someone say MAGNETS??? The first batch of Public Enemies magnets are on their way. Key chains are a little expensive for my pocket book so they will have to wait (I have to order like 500 of them so it's over my budget at the moment - I HAVE BEER TO MAKE) .

I had a lot more that I cut out and pasted for another time on Udey as I'm still researching and learning what friends I will lose in the process.

OK - nuff said (and more typed but you will never see it :-)

Rod