User Posts : Tehachapi News

Takin’ Care of Business

Let’s kick start this week in high gear! Get revved up to congratulate Jerrod Monaghan, owner of Monaghan Motorsports for sponsoring last week’s “Care Ride,” raising funds for injured U.S. Marine Sergeant Justin Clenard. Monaghan has sponsored three previous rides, with proceeds going to fund cancer research.

The 200-mile Care Ride started in Mojave, ending at the border town of Primm Nevada. At a gathering held afterwards, Jerrod told riders, “This may sound cliché, but as I grow as a business, I want to give something back. I just want to do good things.”

If that’s the case, then hurray for cliché and four strokes of roaring applause for Jerrod Monaghan, of Monaghan Motorsports!

Let’s hope those generous riders get the bugs and dirt out of their teeth in time to get decked out for the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce’s monthly mixer, on Oct. 8 from 5-7 p.m. The mixer will be held at the The Tehachapi Holiday Inn Express in Capitol Hills, along with co-hosts AltaOne Federal Credit Union. This month’s mixer is sure to be a crowd pleaser, with appetizers by Don Juan’s Grill and a no-host bar. Enjoy DJ music, door prizes and more. Be sure to congratulate Holiday Inn Express Sales Manager Daniela Peregrina on the property’s selection for the distinguished 2008 Quality Excellence Award. Tehachapi’s newest hotel is only one of 113 properties recognized for overall quality and excellence from more than 3,800 hotels. Also, take a look at the hotel’s new signage, visible to thousands of Highway 58 travelers each day, announcing proudly that Tehachapi businesses are all about quality and excellence!

Speaking of quality and excellence, congratulations to Fancy Tips & Toes Nail Salon, on 20 years in their Tehachapi Boulevard location. Stop by or call for an appointment and wish them a happy anniversary! Also celebrating 20 year anniversaries as Greater Tehachapi Chamber members this month, are Carefree Full Service Moving & Storage, Kunkel Builders, Inc. and Tehachapi Flower Shop.

Looking forward to many happy anniversaries are two newer businesses who are hosting public celebrations this month.

Visit the Tehachapi Linen Chest for a Fall Open House on Oct. 11 from 5 - 8 p.m., with special drawing and refreshments to be served. They’re located at 979 Valley Blvd. at Tucker Road.

Congratulations also go out to Brouckaert Insurance Services, located at 20300 Valley Boulevard. Visit them on Oct. 14 from 4-6 p.m for a ribbon cutting ceremony, drawings and refreshments.

As always, remember to shop locally whenever possible, and be sure to say thanks to all our local entrepreneurs and their dedicated employees for Takin’ Care of Business!

If you or someone you know deserves a shout out in an upcoming edition of Takin’ Care of Business, or would be suitable for a business profile in Community Business News, please send an email to editorial@tehachapinews.com, or call Carin at 823-6373.

No corporate businesses or subsidized community services agencies will be featured in this format, only privately owned, small businesses (less than 20 employees) currently operating within the greater Tehachapi area.

Do You Want To Be A Hero?

I don't know any people who have super-human strength or can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but I do know people who have saved a life. My husband saved my niece's life when she was four and fell into a stream. He also saved a woman from choking outside his store. I haven't saved any human lives but me and my pet rescue friends i.e. the Stoppers have saved the lives of 60 dogs and seven cats since January and I can tell you that it feels G-R-E-A-T!

We foster pets in our homes and then adopt them out to people all over California. It took a lot of courage to become a foster. The first thing you have to do is be willing to open your home and your heart to an animal — potty-trained or not. Then you have to become the trainer, the pooper scooper and finally the person who lets go.

Everybody thinks they can't let go because they'll become so attached. We all feel that way with every animal. But if we don't let go, we can't save another animal's life and there are always others to save.

If we had more dog and cat foster homes, we could save more lives.

What's required of a foster? A good heart, good fencing and housing facilities, a willingness to train, scoop poop, bring the pet to adoption days and meet potential new families at your home or theirs.

If we had just three new fosters, we could save another 25 dogs and cats a year! That's 25 innocent lives that wouldn't be tossed into the dumpster.

It's easy to be a hero, just say yes to fostering. Call Save Tehachapi's Orphaned Pets at 823-4100. We have a pet needing to be saved.

— Chelley Kitzmiiller, Save Tehachapi’s Orphaned Pets

Grand Jury commends BVPD: Basking rights earned again

On Sept. 4, 2008, the Law and Justice Committee of the 2008-2009 Grand Jury visited the Bear Valley Police Department.

The Committee was extremely impressed with the professionalism and knowledge of all personnel the committee spoke with, including the fact that Chief Freeman has been able to take advantage of available grants by doing the grant writing in-house.

The committee would like to congratulate staff on running such a fine Police Department.

— Lawrence Walker, Chairman
Aaron Flucker, Foreman
2008-2009 Kern County Grand Jury

Walkers help transform lives, one step at a time

The Society of St. Vincent dePaul would like to thank our sponsors; McDonalds, Save Mart, Albertsons, M&M Sports and Carlos’ Donuts for their support of our 1st annual Friends of the Poor Walk on Sept. 20.

Thank you to all our participants, walkers and people who generously donated. Thank you for doing your part to help overcome poverty, to help transform lives and lighten the burden of suffering for our poor here in Tehachapi.

The members of St. Malachy Church thank all the community in this ongoing ministry to the poor in our town.

— Jerry and Carol Harwedel
St. Vincent dePaul Society

Scouts shout it out - Thanks!

Cub Scout Pack 136 and Boy Scout Troop 123 would like to sincerely thank K-Mart for the use of their parking lot Sept. 19 & 20. The generous use of their parking lot allowed Cub Scout Pack 136 and Boy Scout Troop 123 to hold their annual rummage sale to raise money for Scout awards and activities.

We would like to thank the Tehachapi Police Dept. for patrolling the area Friday night, keeping a watchful eye on our scouts and our "stuff".

We would also like to thank the community of Tehachapi for their generous donations and support of Cub Scout Pack 136 and Boy Scout Troop 123, as well as the parents of the Scouts who worked very hard to ensure the success of our Rummage
A big cheer to all!

— Cub Scout Pack 136 and Boy Scout Troop 123

Local Jazzercisers entertain at Kern County Fair

As many onlookers gathered around the big stage Friday, Sept. 26, over 30 girls were busy getting ready for their big dance performance at the Kern County Fair.

Dancers representing Tehachapi's area schools, Cummings Valley Elementary, Golden Hills Elementary, Tompkins Elementary, and Jacobsen Middle School were anxiously awaiting show time on the big San Joaquin Community Stage.

The show was comprised of three different dance routines. The Junior Jazzercise dancers danced to the Cheetah Girls, “The Party's Just Begun." The 7th grade dancers from JMS danced to Hairspray’s "Can't Stop the Beat", and the 8th graders danced to Gia Farrel’s "Hit Me Up."

Chris Duff, Jazzercise Instructor at the Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Parks District, began working with these groups of girls in August. Some of them practicing after school and some of them giving up their lunch break at Jacobsen Middle School to work on their routines.

"These girls did a great job! It’s always so rewarding to work with kids. My programs are only about six weeks in duration and then end with the culmination of a performance — perfect for busy schedules. And the dancers get immediate gratification without a long drawn out year of practicing!" Duff said.

Duff also paid a visit to Tompkins Elementary and delighted the after school program with a performance earlier this week. The performance ended with the audience also getting a chance to learn a few basic dances.

"Music is a big part of our kids lives — they love listening to it, playing it and moving to it,” said Duff. “ There are so many ways our schools could incorporate music to enrich our students daily lives."

The next big event and opportunity for Tehachapi area kids and teens will be Oct. 7, when practices will begin for anyone interested in performing in the Disneyland Parade on Nov. 22. For the past three years, Duff has taken a large group to participate with 300 other dancers from California in this experience of a life time — dancing in the parade! For more information regarding this program, please call the TVRPD office at 822-3228.

Tehachapi News Salutes...

Under a hot Mideast sun at Mina Salman Anchorage in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Stefanik assumed command of Mine Counter Measures Crew Leader, as well as USS Dextrous, one of the Navy's forward-deployed minesweepers.

As Captain he now has absolute responsibility for the ship and her crew of 80 sailors, and places him as one of only 14 officers in the Navy to command a ship at his relatively junior rank.

Stefanik was selected for early command-at-sea in 2006 and has served as MCM Crew Leader’s executive officer onboard USS Warrior and USS Dextrous before becoming the ship's commanding officer. MCM Crew Leader is a rotational crew which trains in Ingleside, TX and then deploys to one of the four minesweepers that remain in the Persian Gulf year-round. USS Dextrous was commissioned in 1994 and is the second ship to bear that name in the U.S. Navy. She has been homeported in Bahrain since 1996. The sailors of MCM Crew Leader represent almost every state and range in age from 18 to 45. The crew is currently on the fifth month of a seven month deployment which has consisted of routine security patrols of the Persian Gulf and two major mine clearance exercises with British allies.

Capt. Stefanik is a 1994 graduate of Tehachapi High School and a 1998 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Since 1998 he has served on three other warships and has made five deployments. He is married to the former Catina Bloodworth, of Georgia, and they have three daughters, Ashton, Makenzie and Kelsyn. His parents, Rhonda and Jerry Stefanik, and his grandparents, Howard and Mary Kelso, still live in Brite Valley.

Mail From the Mayor

With the State budget in disarray, I think it's important to talk about how city government is funded. The General Fund includes our portion of our property taxes, sales taxes, and Vehicle License Fees, as well as the TOT (transient occupancy) hotel tax, the Business License Tax and other fees. General Fund money is allocated to personnel, including the police department, general overhead and operating expenditures, and some capital expenditures and debt service.

Other services and departments are self-funded by the users of those services. For instance, the sewer, roads, water and airport all have their separate funds, paid for by the users of the services. Water, sewer and trash collection are covered in your water bill. Road money comes from gas taxes as well as grants. The airport is funded by grants, hangar leases and fuel sales. Costs involved in the planning department are off-set by fees charged for those services.

An important job of the City Manager and staff is to identify and apply for funding available from a myriad of channels for various improvements and projects. Under our system of state and county funding, some of our income and property tax dollars are only available for specific types of projects. For example, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provide funding for improvements to low and medium income neighborhoods. We have used these for such projects as Pioneer Park, curbs and gutters throughout the city, landscaping at the entrance to Ashe Village, and drainage improvements to North Green Street.

Caltrans and our local Kern Council of Governments (Kern-COG) also provide grants that must be used for specific purposes, such as for bike paths, streetscape enhancements, and building roads. We can't use the money for anything else than what the grant specifies. In the last couple of years, we have been awarded nearly $3 million in these grants due to diligent work on the part of the City Manager and City Staff. This is the money that is funding the bike path down Valley Blvd., the extension of Challenger Way to Dennison in Capital Hills, and further improvements to our downtown streetscapes.

Most of these grants do not even require matching funds. All we need is a good plan for the use of the money. For the county grants, the money is pooled from our taxes and spread around to the various cities by Kern-COG. If we don't apply for our share, it's like giving our money away to another city. This is also where it is an advantage to have one of our City Council members rise to the position of president of Kern-COG through longevity on the Council and the COG.

Another important and confusing source of city funding is the Redevelopment Agency (RDA). I'll leave this one for a future column.

2009 Tehachapi Citizen of the Year and Businesses of the Year

The Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce and the Tehachapi News will once again be accepting nominations for the 2009 Tehachapi Citizen of the Year and the 2009 Large and Small Businesses of the Year.

Last year's recipient of the Citizen of the Year was Richard Henry. Small Business of the Year was Tehachapi Sound & Lighting Company and Large Business of the Year was Benz, Inc.

Do you know an outstanding Citizen, someone who, through outstanding community service or volunteerism, had a significant impact on the community over the past year or over the past several years; A Large (20+employees) or Small (1-19 employees) Business which has contributed to the community through their volunteer efforts, continuous involvement, and support of charitable organizations or improvement of the economic climate. Take this opportunity to nominate them.

Nomination are available at the Chamber office 798 Tucker Rd, Ste 4, the Tehachapi News 411 N. Mill St. or you can visit the Chamber website at www.tehachapi.com. Nomination forms will also be published in the Tehachapi News beginning Oct. 15.

Deadline for Submission of Nominations is Wednesday Nov. 26 at 5 p.m.

Awards will be presented at the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce Annual Installation and Recognition Gala.

Stallion Springs CSD General Manager David Aranda wins Award of Excellence

The California Special Districts Association (CSDA) is pleased to report that David Aranda, general manager of Stallion Springs Community Services District (SSCSD) and certified Special District Administrator (SDA), was awarded the William Hollingsworth Award of Excellence at this year's CSDA Annual Conference and Exhibitor Showcase held in Irvine, Calif. last week. The award, CSDA's most prestigious, honors individuals for their extraordinary dedication and contributions to California's special districts.

A former long-time CSDA Board member, Aranda has devoted much of his time and career to CSDA and special districts. He has been a driving force in the development of today's very successful CSDA Education program and, under his leadership, CSDA has been able to develop an educational program relevant to the needs of all special district directors, managers and employees. Although Aranda no longer serves on the CSDA Board, he remains highly involved as an advisor and instructor with the CSDA Special District Leadership Academy, one of the most recognized educational programs for special districts in the state.

In May of 1994, Aranda assumed the position of general manager of SSCSD. Over the last fourteen years, Aranda has worked to build an operation founded on cooperation, communication and consistency. He has an in depth knowledge of all aspects of the operation of the district including water, sewer, roads and police services. Aranda has established an outstanding working relationship with the other entities SSCSD relies on, such as Kern County Fire Department and Tehachapi Cummings Valley Water District.

In addition to serving SSCSD and CSDA, Aranda also has served as board president of the Special District Risk Management Authority (SDRMA), California Rural Water Association (CRWA) and remains president of the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF), which he served on since the foundation's inception in 1999.

CSDA is pleased to honor Mr. Aranda with this prestigious award recognizing his ongoing leadership, dedication and service to special districts throughout California.

The California Special Districts Association (CSDA) has over 1000 member agencies and provides independent special districts with representation, advocacy, education and value-added services that can positively effect their operations and service to constituents.

Bear Valley Community Services District Honored

Last week, during the California Special District Association's Annual Conference in Irvine, Calif., Bear Valley Community Services District received two awards from the Special District Leadership Foundation and its partners.

The first award was a resolution from Senator Roy Ashburn and Assembly Member Jean Fuller for becoming a “District of Distinction” through the Special District Leadership Foundation. The District of Distinction program is an accreditation program that enables districts to demonstrate to their communities, the media and legislators their commitment to operate in a sound, responsible manner. The District of Distinction program began in 2002 and there are currently only six districts who have achieved this distinguished honor statewide.

Bear Valley Community Services District also became the first “Gold Recognition” under the Special District Leadership Foundation's Recognition in Special District Governance program. Each of the following board members, general manager and assistant general manager have completed the CSDA Special District Leadership Academy, which includes training in Governance Foundations; Setting Direction & Community Leadership; the Board's Role in Finance & Fiscal Accountability; and the Board's Role in Human Resources. They also each completed at least 10 hours of elected continuing education credits to qualify for recognition.

Bear Valley's Recognized Board Members and Staff are:

• Bob Sheppard, Director
• Don Kordes, Director
• Phil Darling, Director
• Alfonso Romano, Director
• Ron Samuels, Director
• John Yeakley, SDA, General Manager
• John Martin, SDA, Assistant General Manager

In order to receive the “Gold Recognition” all Directors and the General Manager are required to complete the entire academy, the elective credits and become recognized by the Special District Leadership Foundation. Bear Valley CSD is the first to achieve the Gold Recognition since 1999.

Not only has Bear Valley's entire board and executive staff been recognized and achieved Gold Recognition through the Recognition in Special District Governance Program, but both John Yeakley, General Manager and John Martin, Assistant General Manager have successfully passed the Special District Administrator examination and are certified as Special District Administrators (SDAs).

The SDLF Special District Administrator program is a voluntary designation sought by individuals who strive to be the best. Administrators with various academic and professional backgrounds as well as from all types and sizes of special districts can be candidates for the program. The certification examination and study guide were developed through the participation of over 100 volunteer subject matter experts who know special district administration. Guided by the Foundation Board, Certification Advisory Committee and under direction by a professional examination development firm, this certification gives successful candidates recognition unmatched by any other program. Certification helps document and recognize a candidate's knowledge, skills and capabilities as a special district administrator. The two-hour examination covers all key aspects of special district administration.

A fond farewell and much deserved thanks For the past five years I have had the great pleas

For the past five years I have had the great pleasure to be the Sergeant of the Tehachapi substation. Living in the community and being able to serve it has been an experience I will never forget and has been the most rewarding of my 27 year career. It is time though for me to move on, which was the hardest decision I have had to make in my career.

I would like to thank the public for all the support they give us daily. I will miss the cookies, jams, cards and other goodies brought in for the deputies, which I had to sample. I will miss the interaction I have had with you.

To my senior deputy and deputies. You are the heroic ones who go out there every day and night. I am proud of you. Keep up the good work.

To my Citizen Service Unit, a huge Thank You for all the free hours and dedication you have given the community and me. The substation can't stand without you.
Supervisor Maben, thank you for the support you have given to the substation.
Bill Fisher, Mike Sides and the Golden Hills Community Service District board, thanks for being great landlords and the support.

Mary Beth Garrison, thank you for your energy.

Chiefs Kermode, Burris and Freeman, thank you for your professionalism and interaction with us.

There are many more, and I could keep on going. Many of you I met as the sergeant, and now consider friends. Thank you.

And as the saying goes, the best is saved for last. To Cindi and Sharon, my clerks, my friends. I couldn't have done it without you. You two are the best. I will never forget our years together.

— Sgt. Joe Giuffre

'Sgt. Joe' transfers to Bakersfield

After five years as sergeant of the Kern County Sheriffs Tehachapi Substation, Joe Giuffre has transferred to the Special Enforcement Division in Bakersfield.

Sgt. Richard Wood, formerly of the Mojave Substation, has taken charge of the Tehachapi Substation.

Guiffre, a 27-year member of the department and a member of Kern County's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for 12 years, said making the job change was a hard decision.

“My wife [Jeannine] felt that as a citizen she would like to see me stay. But as a spouse she knew it was time for me to go,” Giuffre said.

The new job involves drugs and gangs and other law enforcement challenges.

Known to all as “Sergeant Joe,” Giuffre wrote in a “thank you bouquet” in this edition of the Tehachapi News, “I would like to thank the public for all the support they give us daily. “I will miss the cookies, jams, cards and other goodies brought in for the deputies, which I had to sample.

“I will miss the interaction I have had with you.”

Giuffre's work as a senior tactical leader for SWAT has kept him in training, as team members must qualify four times a year on all weapons and pass rigorous physical testing.

Shooting qualifications for regular department staff is 70 percent accuracy, he said, while SWAT team members must shoot significantly smaller targets with 80 percent accuracy.

SWAT team members must be willing to put in long hours.

“It takes a lot of dedication,” Giuffre said. “All of these guys are doing their regular jobs too. Not every guy wants to be SWAT.”

He said the stressful situations the team handles don't faze him.

“The stress is not so bad when you get to be old like me,” he said. “I'm used to it, but it's still hard on my wife.”

“Old” Sgt. Joe is 50.

Wood, 52, watched Giuffre pack up his office Oct. 2. Giuffre carefully placed awards and personal photos and a silk ficus tree in boxes and the hallway in preparation for his move down the hill.

Wood was taking over for Giuffre sooner than he had anticiapted.
“I had my eye on Tehachapi,” said Wood, who has served 22 years in the Sheriffs Department and was posted in Mojave for the past year and a half. “I didn't think Joe was going to transfer so quickly.”

Giuffre said, “I never thought I'd leave [Tehachapi]. The opportunity came up in the Special Enforcement Division.”

Giuffre called his friend Wood and they put their names on the transfer list. The move was effective Sept. 26.

The movement of personnel has a ripple effect, Wood said, and “This was a very big transfer department-wide.

“The physical movement was fast too.”

Wood and his wife Vickie live in Bakersfield and have property in Tehachapi on which they hope to build. She works in the petroleum industry. They have two grown children.

“We both like it here.”

In Mojave, Wood said, he worked frequently with security at Edwards Air Force Base and at the Mojave Airport. He served as a Public Information Officer in the department for several years and was senior deputy in Tehachapi in 1999-2000.
Wood plans to drop in to introduce himself to local groups and organizations. He hit the ground running with a visit to the Common Interest Group at the Golden Hills Community Services District.

Wood will be settling into his Tehachapi Substation office at 22209 Old Town Road.
He doesn't have a lot of stuff to move.

“I was so busy in Mojave I never had a chance to decorate my office,” Wood said.

Landlord backs down after city gets tough

In an 11th-hour capitulation, the owners of the run-down High Mountain Apartments agreed to tough demands by the city of Tehachapi that they rehabilitate their property or lose their business license.

“They don’t want us to air their dirty laundry,” said City Manager Greg Garrett.
He said the new agreement shows that “The owners are working toward certification and they’ve done the right thing.”

A special City Council meeting scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29, to hear an appeal of the business permit suspension the city had imposed on the apartment owners was canceled early that afternoon when Steven Glass, attorney for Cherry Mountain, L.P./High Mountain Apartments, confirmed that his client would meet the conditions demanded by the city.

The owners transferred a fine of $3,500 imposed by the city into the account of the law firm the city hired to handle the case, LeBeau Thelen of
Bakersfield. The amount of the fine, according to City Manager Greg Garrett, is the highest that could be levied in the matter.

A letter from attorney Kevin E. Thelen to Glass, dated Sept. 29 and transmitted by facsimile and U.S. mail, referenced “City of Tehachapi re: Building code Enforcement (Cherry Mountain, L.P.)” and said that “in order for the appeal hearing to be taken off calendar,” the apartment owners must agree to four conditions:

• They sign a letter dated Aug. 22, 2008, acknowledging the acceptance of the conditions in that letter.

• They pay the $3,500 fine.

• They obtain a permit to demolish the burned out recreation building.

• They write a letter to the Tehachapi City Council officially withdrawing their request for an appeal of the code enforcement action.

The Aug. 22 letter, signed by LeBeau Thelen attorney Bob Joyce, spelled out in detail the city’s remediation demands and revealed the city’s growing irritation with the apartment owners. It included a formal notice of the suspension of the apartment owners’ business permit.

“Based on your conversation with Mr. Thelen this morning,” the Aug. 22 letter said to Glass, “it is clear that your client has reverted back to the same approach taken in the two years previous to our firm’s retention and intervention in this matter. You confirmed to Mr. Thelen that your client had not solicited bids for the demolition until yesterday and only after we spoke with you and reminded you of your client’s earlier commitments. Your client has habitually failed to act on the conditions and problems brought to its attention by Inspector [John] Hasselbrink. Your client ignores its responsibilities to the tenants and the community. The City will not be patient any longer.”

The Aug. 22 letter spelled out a list of nine non-negotiable terms, including a prohibition against placing tenants in a unit that has not been inspected; the completion of a mold inspection; the creation of a flyer to inform tenants of the right to a pest inspection; the completion of pest/rodent inspection of designated units; an adjustment of coverage to include rodents as well as “just pests;” repair of furnaces; and the fine “for operating a business with a suspended or revoked business permit.”

The Aug. 22 letter was signed belatedly Sept. 29 by “Saumil Dave, as Pres. of S.R.P. Property, Inc., G.P. of Cherry Mountain, L.P.,” who acknowledged receipt and pledged compliance.

Depot fire defendants 'held to answer,'

The two Tehachapi men charged in the June 13 fire that destroyed the historic railroad depot will be re-arraigned Oct. 10 in Bakersfield on a felony charge of causing a structure fire.

In a preliminary hearing Sept. 26 at Superior Court East Kern Branch in Mojave, Judge John Oglesby concluded there is enough evidence on that one count to hold Jason Watson and Brian O'Donnell over for trial.

He dismissed a misdemeanor charge of selling and using illegal fireworks, citing insufficient cause.

The defendants will enter a plea on Oct. 10 and a trial date will be set.

An arson investigator for the Kern County Fire Department testified at the preliminary hearing. The attorneys for the defendants had no comment following the preliminary hearing. The arson investigation office would not comment, citing possible contamination of the jury pool.

At the site of the burned depot, a group of men from Friends of the Depot for weeks have been scraping and cleaning old bricks unearthed by machines clearing out dirt and debris preparing for renewed construction. The bricks were part of the original foundation and pilasters that are more than 100 years old.

The site now reveals strata that tell the history of the depot. At the lowest level are the bricks, then remnants of charred wood from the first depot fire in 1904, then a black layer of soil that accumulated during the flood decades of the 1930s and 1940s. On top of that layer is three feet of fill that was placed on the site to hold the depot when it was raised off the ground to get above the floodwaters. The fill made the land higher than the surrounding streets.

The bricks possibly will be used in a walkway for the rebuilt depot. The men, after laboriously chipping off old concrete from the bricks, have salvaged more than a pallette of the old foundation material.