****If you go to Cambria Historic Districts's
Town of Christiansburg Public Information webpage, you will find a new link on the left hand side "CITIZEN SURVEYS". These surveys are not for citizens only, visitor input is welcome.****
I had been grumbling about the increase in train traffic and how it caused so much congestion at the Cambria Street Crossing. As with all things that change, before grumbling I should have thought about why.
Trains travel all across the country. They have to pass over rivers. Now what impact does all of the flooding going on in the Midwest have on rail traffic? I believe a lot of the increase we are seeing is due to rerouting of trains where travel has been compromised by flooding. Additionally, I see a lot of materials such as culverts, piping, timbers and wood that would be required for the repair/reinforcement of levees, bridges, town, and homes.
Growing up down in Louisiana, spring thaws frequently brought rising water levels. It was not uncommon in driving from Louisiana to Mississippi, crossing that big Mississippi river to see fields of cotton suddenly transformed into lakes. It was not unusual to see a vehicle parked on higher ground while a family took a boat to go out to their home.
Having lived with and seen those events as well as the flooding caused by hurricanes perhaps makes me a little more sensitive to the plights of those whose lives are being affected by the current flooding. Those people have a "long row to hoe" that will challenge them far beyond the receding of the water.
In a "there, but for the grace of God, go I" kind of attitude, I hope that each of you will take a moment to think about those people affected by the floods, the lives lost, the fields and farms destroyed, the loss of businesses, and the tremendous challenge of rebuilding or starting over those people will face.
If the opportunity arises where you can help by way of donations, positive thoughts, prayers, whatever.... please consider doing so.