Chenango County

Oxford Riverwalk Project -- Many of you have asked how the Riverwalk Project is coming along. I am happy to report that the project is moving along nicely but will, of course, be a work in progress and take some time to complete. To date, $25,000 has been raised to help with the excavating around the river bed and some of this has already been completed. Walks have been groomed and the area surrounding it has been seeded. Estimated cost for the construction of the Burr Truss Bridge is $1,300,000. Funding for this kind of a project is difficult at best. The committee is working to complete smaller components of the overall plan in order to better show intent. Hopefully, they can aggressively approach funding once the Route 12 corridor receives some additional funding and the state and federal programs are once again funded. Grants are being written and submitted to help with the funding of the Covered Bridge and the surrounding area which includes the Oxford Library, former home of Theodore Burr. We'll keep you posted as this project continues.

Herkimer County

Salisbury Center Covered Bridge - NY 32-22-01 On September 25th, there was a special meeting of the Salisbury Town Board for the purpose of opening bids for the Salisbury Center Covered Bridge rehabilitation. They still anticipate that the work will begin this fall.

Rensselaer/Washington Counties

Buskirk, Rexleigh and Eagleville Covered Bridges -- NY 32-42-02/58-04; NY 32-58- 03 and NY 32-58-01 - According to Willie Grimmke, Superintendent of Public Works for Washington County bid openings for the Covered Bridge rehabilitation project is scheduled for October 1, 2003. Approximately 15 contractors have picked up plans and are preparing bids in anticipation of the October 1st bid opening.

Tompkins County

Newfield Covered Bridge -- NY 32-55-01 By all accounts the Newfield Covered Bridge celebration was a huge success. There was plenty to see including memorabilia displays on the history of the covered bridge. One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of a sign created by Eagle Scout, Joshua Carrasco which featured photographs along with a historical account of the bridge. Ice cream and a special commemorative cake were served to guests. Another highlight of the day was the official presentation of the State and National Register of Historic Places plaque to Town Supervisor, Charles Breggren. Unfortunately, Bob and I were not able to attend this event and make the presentation ourselves due to a prior commitment. Special thanks to Richard Wilson for making the presentation in our absence.

Other news:

Virginia Covered Bridge Society -- Leola Pierce, Author of Covered Bridges of Virginia reports that Senator Frederick Quayle was the guest speaker at their August 20th meeting. Senator Quayle was responsible for starting Covered Bridge Weekend in Virginia in 1998 and for getting the Covered Bridge License Plate bill passed this year. Quayle attended the meeting to discuss how selling the plates will help in the restoration efforts. For every $25 spent on these plates, $15 will be allotted towards the restoration of their covered bridges. For anyone wishing to learn more about this society, contact Leola at 757-484-4404 or email her at VaBridgeLady@aol.com.

Delaware Covered Bridges -- Smith Covered Bridge -- DE-02-02 Thanks to Sandy Adrion of Pine Hill New Jersey for sharing the latest on the Smith Covered Bridge in Ashland County, Delaware. This bridge was constructed in August 2002 and on September 12, 2003 vandals left their mark by spray painting graffiti on the portals of this bridge. Sandy was there in April of 2003 and the graffiti was not there at that time. What a shame to deface such a beautiful bridge. We lost three bridges recently. The Wooddale Covered Bridge -- DE-02-04 was swept away on Monday, September 15, 2003 due to flash flooding, as was the Pisgah Covered Bridge -- NC-76-01 on August 9th. The Delta Covered Bridge -- IA-54-01 was lost to arson on September 3rd, 2003 and we almost lost the Hogback Covered Bridge -- IA-61-04 just three days later on September 6th. The Hogback was not severely damaged thanks to a passer-by who saw smoke and threw water on the flames.

National Covered Bridge Conference -- For anyone who is interested, some of the programs from the conference have been posted on the following website: www.uvm.edu/coveredbridges/papers.html If you have a moment to visit this site, I think you will find the material very interesting.