And once more on the hometown front...

Jim Smith over at Unfreezing was shocked on Tuesday to see that I had let go an opportunity last week to make mention of this article from The Birmingham News about the proposed dredging of portions of the mighty Cahaba River and its tributary, seething, roiling Pinchgut Creek.

Professor Smith opines thusly:

[...] Trussville's mayor wants to dredge these two main waterways. The stated cause is flooding but I think other things are going on. If Alabama could pass a law, like in Mississippi, to allow riverboat gaming, then Trussville would be set. Ah, casinos on the Pinchgut. The Pinchgut Palace Casino. What a thought, all we need now is the ability to get the things in there.

Well, that may be less a function of statute than stature.

Seeing as how even the most geezerly and feeble old man could easily send an arc of pee from bank to bank, fitting a full-sized riverboat between the shores would be something more difficult than even getting a permit from ADEM or the Corps to dredge the creek. The Cahaba is a bit wider. However, the gaming experience might have to be limited to a canoe.

Also, as I was reading the article, I wondered when silt became siltation.

Jim refers to the sentence in the article reading:

Under the agreement, Trussville would provide the track hoe and operator for the dredging, while Jefferson County Roads and Transportation would provide dump trucks and drivers to haul the siltation away.

Well, you see, by removing the process of silt accumulation ("siltation") you eliminate any further silt buildup! It is a very clever way to deal with the problem. Just get that whole siltation deal up in a truck and put it in a landfill, where it will automatically siltate to fill in the hole.

Either that, or the reporter gets paid by the letter.

posted by Terry at 11:50:00 AM