By Ruth Musser-Lopez
(May 1) Unpredictable and wild, circa eighty-five year old dips and timber trestle bridges are among those extraordinary characteristics of San Bernardino County’s desert section of California U.S. Highway Route 66 which make for a thrilling, one-of-a-kind ride. Yet, for safety reasons, timber trestle bridges cause government officials to shudder.
Just west of Daggett, “catching some air” driving fast across the dips on old Route 66 is a cheap but perhaps dangerous thrill that some bikers seek at their own risk.  It seems to be the general consensus of the public actively participating in assisting with the development of the Bureau of Land Management’s Route 66 Corridor Management Plan (CMP) that despite the inherent dangers of those driving irresponsibly there, to smooth the road out would be to alter the historic route’s integrity and lose some of its intrinsic charm.
Photo Courtesy Lardner/Klein
On the other hand, the timber trestle bridges are the “something old” along the corridor that some government officials seem to think are of immediate concern—they may not be that safe. If you drive the abandoned de-designated state route…you apparently may be doing so at considerable risk.
In a recent analysis by the County of San Bernardino, 128 “aging” 80-year (+/-) old timber trestle bridges are in the area between Daggett and Mountain Springs Road, reported Lardner/Klein Associates.  This number is “staggering,” according to Lardner/Klein  These 128 are “opposed to only 30 currently carrying automobile and truck traffic on U.S. Highway 66 across all other states and counties (including Los Angeles County, California) combined.”
Lardner/Klein also reported that according to the county analysis, the 128 bridges were constructed during the period of time from 1929 to 1935 and are included within a total of 136 bridges and large culverts in this portion of Route 66. Of the remainder, four are reinforced concrete bridges, three are pipe culverts, and one is a concrete box culvert.
However, maintaining the original character and charm of the route including the dips and bridges, is important to tourism with an increasingly large number of foreign tourists from Europe and Asia arriving each year desiring to visit the Grand Canyon via Route 66 from Los Angeles.  According to a study conducted by Rutgers University, these are high-income visitors who are staying longer and spending more than the typical passerby.
Stewardship strategies for Route 66 including the bridges and dips are proposed for consideration by the Route 66 Ad Hoc CMP Planning Committee – abbreviated simply as the “AHPC.”  The AHPC’s first “webinar” meeting took place on April 28, 2014, lead by Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, P.C., a firm contracted by the Bureau of Land Management to assist with corridor management plan development.  According to Lardner/Klein, the proposed stewardship strategies are based on issues identified in public outreach conducted during initial scoping phases that took place between November 2013 through March 2014 at which time there was a bus tour, small group meetings, conference calls, public meetings, including a web-based meeting all conducted by Lardner/Klein.  The photographs in this article are courtesy of their contracted work for the federal agency.
Jim Klein, acting on behalf of the firm, said with regard to the strength of the bridges, that the route between Barstow and Needles built 80 years ago was never intended to bear the type of tonnage now being pulled by diesel trucks.  With maintenance, the bridges have held up under over-capacity weight even during an emergency redirect when I-40 was closed down due to a temporary hazardous condition.  In reference to the timber trestle bridges, he said that according to the county’s historian Roger G. Hatheway, “You can stick a pencil through them.”
Upon hearing this, one scenario that has been posed more or less as a question by San Bernardino County Sentinel editor Mark Gutglueck, “What are the odds of a catastrophic bridge collapse on Route 66 in the middle of the desert during the ‘perfect storm’ where two heavily-laden 18-wheelers, moving in opposite direction at the same time across a weak timber trestle bridge?”
The County of San Bernardino which maintains the section of Route 66 between Daggett and Mountain Springs Road, is currently conducting a study as a part of the “Dola and Lanzit Bridge replacement projects.”
Nearly all of the distinct segments of the road paralleling I-40 access have some bridges that are weight limited. According to Lardner/Klein, “San Bernardino County is faced with a difficult challenge of keeping the road open to all vehicles. A consulting firm for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works is currently preparing a study evaluating the manner in which the state inspects and evaluates bridges on historic Route 66 in San Bernardino County, and how this translates into the posting of load limits.”
Timber trestle bridges may have originally been built to support the National Old Trails Road (circa 1912).  Made of what appears to be materials similar to modified railroad ties and cut up utility poles, they were not uncommon nationwide in the first couple of decades of the twentieth century—1900 through 1920 according to Lardner/Klein.  “Beginning about 1920, however, they began to be regarded by many highway design engineers as temporary structures, although they continued to be used in specific locales due to the fact that they could be erected quickly and inexpensively.
Lardner/Klein cited a 1920 book, by Milo S. Ketchum, C.E., entitled
“The Design of Highway Bridges of Steel, Timber and Concrete,” which states that “Timber Highway bridges were formerly quite generally used, and are still in use for temporary structures and in localities where transportation is difficult and where suitable timber is available.” In very simple terms, timber trestle highway bridges were built nationwide with a limited anticipated lifespan.
At the April 28, 2014 meeting of the AHPC, safety concern over the timber trestle bridges were on the agenda as the main subject topic.
The Archaeological Heritage Association suggested that the timber trestle bridges be studied by engineers as an example of what works in the desert’s arid environment.  “The bridges have proven to be durable and strong.  They have held up under tremendous weight over the years.  Perhaps the aridity of the desert has something to do with it. The wooden structures don’t deteriorate as quickly here as in wetter conditions back east.  So that we don’t lose the integrity and charm of the road’s character, maybe all that is needed is some in-kind buttress work to preserve these historic bridge features in place.  As far as weight limits, perhaps its time to consider making this portion of Route 66 a toll road, limit the weight of the vehicles coming across and use the tolls for maintenance of the route.”
Some protection for the road appears to be available through its potential listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).   Lardner/Klein said that in their review to date, the general consensus of preservation professionals is that the Route 66 alignment itself is eligible for the National Register, however, the transportation and related roadside features such as wooden trestle bridge structures or roadside architectural features will need to be evaluated separately for eligibility.  This opinion seems to imply that the bridges would not automatically be protected under a future Route 66 National Register status by simply being a feature of the road itself.   A study evaluating for NRHP status the individual eligibility of all of the 136 bridges and large culverts between Daggett and Mountain Springs Road on historic Route 66 is currently being prepared as part of the County of San Bernardino’s “Dola and Lanzit Bridge replacement projects.”
Lardner/Klein also reported the following findings with regard to that study:  “The County of San Bernardino currently maintains the 128 timber trestle bridges.  Of these 128 timber trestle bridges 127 are on National Trails Highway (NTH) the predecessor to Route 66, and one timber trestle bridge is on Ludlow Road, an original portion of the Route 66 alignment immediately to the west of Crucero Road.  Of the 127 timber trestle bridges/structures on NTH, 31 are not eligible for federal historic bridge repair and/or replacement funding as they are less than 20 feet in length and are officially classed as culverts and not bridges.
“By the mid-1940s, the State of California recognized the need to rebuild its aging timber trestle highway bridges statewide, and several articles were published by the Division of Highways detailing the need for reconstruction.  At this time, the State of California clearly recognized that all U.S Highway 66 timber trestle bridges between Daggett and Mountain Springs Road were quickly approaching the end of their design and economical service life.”
Yet, Lardner/Klein states,  “Seventy years later, the county of San Bernardino is attempting to maintain the same bridges—a very expensive and difficult task.”  But, the “California’s State Historical Building Code (http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/AboutUs/shbsb/shbsb_health_safety.aspx) – provides a tool for historic preservation,” which would alleviate some of the expense of maintaining historic properties.  The law provides that qualified historic structures would not be required to comply with current code standards. Alternative provisions in California Code Section 18961 provides for consultation with the State Historical Building Safety Board regarding the treatment of qualified historical buildings or structures.
Even so, raised are two potential issues and/or concerns with the application of the California State Historical Building Code as it applies to historic Route 66 on federal lands.  First, if any given bridge is determined not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, then it cannot be considered to be a qualified historic property thus it appears the alternative historic building code would not apply.  Second, if a property is considered to be eligible for listing, it is unclear whether utilization of a less restrictive State Code on federal historic properties is allowable if federal funds are involved.   Further, if the Federal Highway Administration’s funding process requires review under the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act guidelines then the utilization of a State Code may not be feasible.  Resolution of these issues and concerns over the course of the corridor management plan  project is anticipated.
Route 66/National Trails Highway is an important emergency alternative when Interstate 40 is closed due to a maintenance issue or emergency situations such as an accident on the highway.  It thus serves an important transportation function in addition to its historic scenic, recreational and local business uses.  It is used by at least two state agencies, the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans. However, according to Lardner/Klein the alignment has never been officially designated as an emergency corridor by the State of California despite repeated requests by the county of San Bernardino.  Failure to designate the road as an emergency corridor has rendered the route ineligible to receive federal or state funding targeted specifically for emergency detour routes.
We need to hear all of our San Bernardino County region candidates for state assembly and senate positions this election season say that they will endeavor to obtain designation of Route 66 through San Bernardino County as an emergency detour route. Consider this:  other bridges such as the “Big Mac,” the Mackinac suspension bridge in Michigan is under constant maintenance 9 months out of the year.  Isn’t an emergency escape corridor for the millions living in Los Angeles and the “Inland Empire” just as important?

Syndicated 2014, Ruth Musser-Lopez—Small quotes citing author, the Sentinel and publication date are permissible under copyright law.  Please respect the rights of those quoted herein by referencing source:  Lardner/Klein may be contacted at cart66cmp@lardnerklein.com.  Permission to reprint this article may be obtained by contacting Ruth at the Archaeological Heritage Association (AHA) 760/885-9374 or via email at Ruth@RiverAHA.org.

(April 29) Second District County Supervisor Janice Rutherford said she is seeking reelection in June because “I think it is important to continue with the reforms and progress we have made in the last four years. We have begun a tremendous cultural shift in county government away from the toxic politics of the past and toward accountability and performance measurements. I very much want to continue that work.”
Rutherford said, “The issues for the Second District are countywide issues as a whole. The cultural shift I mentioned is one that took place from a countywide perspective. With regard to issues that are particular to the Second District, the transformation of Lake Gregory is important, rebuilding the dam at the lake, getting on a regular dredging schedule and seeing the successful transition of the lake’s recreational amenities to CalParks. This is year one of that transition. This is important to the economic health of the Crestline community, that we see that program through.”
She continued, “Another issue on the west side of the district is continuing to work with the Foothill city of Rancho Cucamonga on the Front Country Trails System and access to and maintenance of the North Etiwanda Preserve.”
Rutherford said her concerns for the county went beyond the Second Disttict.
“Most of the other issues are pretty much countywide ones,” she said, “such as fixing the inefficiency of county government every resident is concerned about, the need to grow the local economy and the need to focus on moving those on public assistance to self sufficiency. We are also focused on how we continue to respond to the effect and consequences of the state prison realignment, which is putting dangerous criminals into our communities. We first need to find the revenue to hire more sheriff’s deputies to staff the High Desert Detention Center and get more patrol coverage. We need to acknowledge that the jobs of our probation officers have changed dramatically with regard to the new state policy and that we have to stay on top of their needs.”
Rutherford said the county also need to “take a look at fire and emergency response. The county fire department is significantly into the county general fund and that is not sustainable. Instead of being sustained by fire district funds, the county fire division is now getting $18 million in county general funds. We need to create ways of looking at emergency response and do things more creatively and efficiently.”
For the county as well, Rutherford said, “Another broad category is our reaction to the Affordable Care Act and  the newly insured portion of our population and the remaining uninsured portion of our population and the effect this will have on the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. How many of our indigent population will still rely on county service? How does the county hospital shift its approach to a community that now has other options for health care?”
With regard to the preserve and trail systems in Rancho Cucamonga, Rutherford said she is “trying to see if we can get additional funding for the accurate GPA mapping of the trail system. We have to get that in place before working with community organizations on how to develop and maintain those trails and make sure there is both pedestrian and equestrian access to the trails.”
Rutherford said her approach to improving the district and county’s economic outlook consisted of “Finding how do we advocate with the state legislature and the governor to show that they are driving businesses out of the state. How do we make sure the South Coast Air Quality Management District doesn’t kill the logistics industry, which is what is keeping our local economy going? We need to work with our business and education sectors to reform our school system to produce graduates who  have the technical skills the next generation of employees need. We have to help our young people become entrepreneurs. It is not enough to import jobs and try to get international or national companies to locate here. We have to grow our own.”
Rutherford said, “My goal is that we all recognize we have taken a bit of a back seat in getting our house in order and  look at what programs give taxpayer the most bang for their buck. We should be giving those who receive public aid the skills to be independent. We are just starting that going and are  at the very beginning of the process. That is why I hope to be reelected, to continue to work toward that end, attracting more money and funding. We need more private foundation funding to replicate those programs.”
She said approaches to driving down the county fire department’s costs include “asking fire service to respond on how they deliver their services. Why do we have to roll a truck to every medical call? Who should transport if the subject has to go to the hospital? Is the fire district organized as to get the most efficiency?”
Rutherford is opposed by Randolph Beasley, a retired sheriff’s department scientific division forensic examiner. She said she compares favorably to him.
“I think I have a clear track record in supporting accountability and transparency in governing,” she said. “I’ve got a track record as a policy maker that has brought about some vibrant change in the county. I have helped restore confidence in county government that is worthy of continuing, to see what progress we can make in the next four years.”
A graduate of Ontario High School, Rutherford attended George Washington University before transferring to UC Riverside, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in political science. She obtained a master’s degree in American politics at Claremont Graduate School. She worked for State Senator Bill Leonard and then later rejoined his staff when he was on the Board of Equalization. She was on the Fontana City Council from 2000 to 2010. Married, she has two children.

(April 29) Ensen Mason is challenging incumbent county treasurer-tax collector-auditor-controller Larry Walker in this year’s election, Mason said, “because I don’t think the job is being done well. There is a  lot of corruption and financial mismanagement in county government. The responsibility for that should have fallen to the auditor-controller. These issues need to be made public. I think he is doing a horrible job in connecting with the people he is elected to serve. If you walked into a room full of people and asked each of them who among them had heard from him, zero would say they have had any word from him. A vital role is connecting with people.”
The county is seeing an inadequate return on the money it is investing under Walker’s watch, Mason said.
“The main problem is we have an extremely lazy investment policy stance,” Mason said. “The job of the tax collector is to collect the money and deposit it properly. The treasurer is responsible for depositing that money, accounting for it and then investing it wisely so that it grows properly or at least keeps pace with inflation. The county has a triple A credit rating, which sounds good, but that rating comes at a huge cost. We are basically getting no return on our money. We are getting very little return on our investment tools. We are sitting on short term instruments. The county’s money should be invested prudently and safely, but we should be seeing a decent return on our investments given the amounts involved. Prudence and a good return are not mutually exclusive functions.”
Mason continued, “The controller has an accounting function, which is supposed to focus on reporting and maintaining transparency. The auditor is usually responsible for keeping an eye on the other three people. The auditor reviews the controller’s reports and offers an opinion on the validity and accuracy of the information provided. Unfortunately, the way the county has designed it, the person in the position of keeping an eye on the others serves in the capacity of those entities having an eye kept on them.”
Mason said he believed that Walker has done a reasonably decent job in his function as treasurer, but has lagged behind with regard to his duties as treasurer, auditor and controller.
“I think he has done alright as far as collecting and receiving and counting and then depositing the money in the right place, at least as far as I can tell,” Mason said. “I do not think I would change very much in that regard.”
It was in the other three arenas, that Mason said his major differences with Walker lie.
If elected, Mason said he would depart from the county’s current investment policy.
“I would invest in a conservative portfolio that would return a reasonable rate,” Mason said in describing his difference with the treasurer’s office policy under Walker.
Mason said he had an even more substantial difference with Walker in regard to the merging of the functions of the tax collector treasurer with those of the auditor controller. In 1998, Walker, who was then Fourth District County supervisor, successfully ran for the post of auditor-controller/recorder. He was reelected to that post in 2002 and 2006. During that period, the position of treasurer-tax collector was an independently elected position. Prior to the 2010 election, the county moved to consolidate the treasurer-tax collector position with that of the auditor-controller, appointing Walker to replace former treasurer-tax collector Dick Larsen, and subsequently moving the recorder function into the assessor’s office, which is also an independently elected post.
Despite the objections of many at the time that the merger represented an unwise consolidation of duties, Walker consented to the change and seamlessly made the transition. Mason ran against Walker in the 2010 election, the first time where the voters were asked to elect one person to fill the consolidated treasurer tax collector auditor controller position. Walker, running as the incumbent garnered 128,033 votes, or 70.94 percent to Mason’s 52,445 votes, or 29.06 percent.
Four years later, Mason is engaging Walker in a rematch, looking for a different outcome based upon his belief that the county’s residents have had an opportunity to consider the disadvantage in having the county treasurer serving as a watchdog over himself. In this way, he is anxious to remind voters that Walker embraced the consolidation.
“They [the county board of supervisors] should not have done that,” Mason said. “By doing that they have lost an important check and balance. They eliminated one elected position from the county roster of officials chosen by the voters. Instead of having more accountability in the system to more people, you have less. That was a mistake. They could have redrawn the elective duties in a different way that did not give one person essentially all of the monetary collection, depositing, investing and accounting authority. This could have been done in a way that would have made more sense without eliminating the individual and independent layers of accountability.  If  I were elected, I would advocate having the auditor controller separated from the treasurer tax collector.
In examining the merger and Walker’s acquiescence in it, Mason said,”You have to look at his motivation. He received something like a $70,000 to $80,000 bump in pay when this reorganization went through. Did he think this was a good idea or did he just want to get paid more? The transition does not make sense from the standpoint of better accountability and accounting integrity. It only makes sense from the standpoint that somebody was going to make more money from doing it that way.”
Mason said voters should consider the implication of the consolidation as well as the degree to which accountability in the handling of the taxpayer’s money has been compromised, Mason said.
“The main difference between us is that I would not have accepted the merger,” Mason said. “I would have greater connectivity with the people. No one is listening to what the community has to offer. I think that should be changed. If I am elected, I would serve as the administrative head of all four departments, but I would separate myself from them and make sure that all four functions are independent of one another. If you are going to have those functions combined, they should be independent and the people overseeing them should be separate. They should be run as you would run separate companies, with separate oversight. You should have independent department heads who can have no influence over one another, to ensure the public’s interest is well cared for.”
In assessing why he makes a superior choice to Walker, Mason said,
“Honestly, I am the one legally qualified to do the job based upon the requirements. Look at the qualifications to run for this office. There are six specific ones. Mr. Walker would not be able to run for this position if he was not the incumbent. To run for this post, you need to be a CPA or have a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He has neither of those qualifications. That says something about whether he should be there in the first place. The only reason he is treasurer is he was on the board a long time before and he was appointed to the treasurer-tax collector position by the board of supervisors when it made the mistake of folding those roles into the auditor controller’s office. That is the only way someone without the qualifications could get into that position. If you ask him, he will tell you he is not a CPA and that he does not have a degree in accounting.”
Mason graduated from Piscataway  High School in New Jersey and received his undergraduate degree from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City. He also has an MBA in finance from the University of Redlands. He is currently employed as a certified public accountant and financial advisor. He formerly worked as a program system analyst for Boeing. He is a single father.

(April 30) Eleven of the 424 public elementary schools statewide identified by  California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson 2014 Calfiornia Distinguished Schools are located within San Bernardino County.
“It’s an annual honor to see the outstanding schools from our county recognized for the tremendous work they do with the students, staff and communities,” San Bernardino County Superintendent Gary Thomas said.
According to the California Department of Education, schools chosen for the Distinguished Schools distinction are among “California’s most exemplary and inspiring public schools. Schools selected for the Distinguished School Award demonstrate significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap.”
The schools so honored in San Bernardino County this year are Alta Loma’s Hermosa Elementary in the Alta Loma School District; Ontario’s Liberty Elementary School in the Chino Valley Unified School District; Chino Hill’s Gerald F. Litel Elementary in the Chino Valley Unified School District; Chino’s Chino’s Oxford Preparatory Academy in the Chino Valley Unified School District; Alta Loma’s Caryn Elementary School in the Etiwanda School District and Etiwanda’s Windrows Elementary School in the Etiwanda School District; Fontana’s  Oak Park Elementary School in the Fontana Unified School District;  Yucca Valley’s Yucca Mesa Elementary in the Morongo Unified School District Redlands’ McKinley Elementary School in the Redlands Unified School District and  Mentone Elementary School in the Redlands Unified School District; and Victorville’s Galileo Academy 101 in the Victor Elementary School District.

(May 1) NEEDLES—City council members in Needles,  San Bernardino County’s smallest incorporated city, on April 22 heard a report from the economic development consultant hired by city manager Rick Daniels that was long on hopeful projection. But two months after the only grocery store in town gave indication it was going to pack up and leave, the effort to interest other retailers in establishing operations in the city located on the western bank of the Colorado River has fallen flat.
Needles, which at the turn of the 19th to the 20th Century was San Bernardino County’s third largest city, is today the least populous of the county’s 24 incorporated municipalities. Once its population  exceeded 10,000. Today, it boasts fewer than 5,000 residents.
The town faces numerous economic obstacles and disadvantages. One is its remoteness. Driving distance from Needles to Barstow is 144 miles one way. The trip from Needles to San Bernardino is 212 miles. Much of the local population has an income that puts it below the poverty level. Because sales tax is lower just across the river in Arizona and slightly further north in Nevada, local residents simply take the bridge to patronized out-of- state stores and gas stations. This has deprived the local area of tax revenue for more than a generation, and has perpetuated a resultant deterioration in public facilities, infrastructure and institutions.
Last year, the city council gambled on hiring Rick Daniels as city manager. A former trash company executive whose first major public administration job was as the city manager of Desert Hot Springs, Daniels convinced the Needles City Council that he had multiple contacts within the private sector that could be utilized to facilitate the attraction of businesses to Needles.
To land Daniels, the city council offered him an initial salary of $197,000 per year with annual increases of $10,000, which was almost double what it was paying to interim city manager Dave Brownlee.
Sparking the economic transformation of Needles he confidently predicted he could effectuate proved a tougher job than Daniels anticipated and he subsequently convinced the city council that it should retain Michael Bracken as an economic development consultant.
For Bracken, however, the task has proven equally daunting.  In late March, the city was given an unmistakable signal of the further deterioration of its  economy, when it received word that Bashas’, the city’s only grocery store, will close on May 9.
On April 22 Bracken provided a report to the council on his efforts. He said he has coordinated with Amtrak in its effort to interest a commercial broker in managing the El Garces intermodal transportation facility and leasing it to various tenants. Bracken indicated he has dialogued with  Stater Brothers, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys Burgers, Rio Ranch Market, AutoZone, Circle K, Jersey Mike’s, Del Taco, 99 Cents Only, Farmer Boys Restaurants, Smart and Final Markets, Panda Express Restaurants, Dunkin Donuts and El Pollo Loco.
There is also a report that an Indian  tribe is interested in developing a casino at the corner of River Road and Broadway.
So far, according to Bracken, none of these prospects has panned out, but he said the city will continue its efforts to nterest corporations and businesses, large and small, local and national, in setting up shop in Needles.