eBay workshop offered in Branson!

Branson MO. - According to the November 1 edition of the Taney County Times, a workshop that will cover 'Buying and Selling' on eBay will be offered on November 14 starting at 6PM at the Taneyhills Community Library located at 200 South 4th Street in Branson Missouri!

Acclaimed local author Josh Young (Myths and Mysteries) will deliver an entertaining and informative talk on how to navigate, buy and post items on the very popular eBay platform.

This should be a very popular event and the organizers are urging interested parties to call and make a reservation in order to make sure they have a spot. You can call the library at 417-334-1418 to make the reservation and in case you have any additional questions.

Bridge project congestion? What congestion?

Forsyth MO. – With a number of weeks of construction now under its belt, the MODOT Bull Shoals Bridge project has proven to be something of a yawner as far as traffic delays have gone. As a matter of fact, I haven't even heard mention of it from the men I women who I know cross the bridge there on a daily commute. Now does that mean everything will run smoothly at all times? Surely not. However, it does appear as if the engineers do know what they are doing when it comes to scheduling trucks and equipment to lessen traffic impacts as much as possible.

I stopped by the site on Sunday, October the 8^th, as I wanted to get a few pics of the progress made thus far. Really, I was amazed to see just how rapid the progress had been! Already, there was sub structure work started on the water itself, along with work that had begun on the River Run side! It'll be interesting to see how far they come by the time of my next visit towards the end of the month!

Having never obtained my GED, I have little knowledge about much of anything. However, I do have an eye for color and odd shapes. And while I like to spend most of my time looking for such at the local grocery store, I do occasionally stumble  upon something that I have no clue as to its function or where exactly it will be inserted into the bridge framework. Whatever it is, it is 'female' and was therefore of interest...

Update: The OxBlue construction time lapse camera is up and running! Interested parties will be able to access it here.

Blues, Brews and BBQ festival!

BRANSON, Mo. – The Branson Landing invites the community to join them this Saturday, September 23^rd, for its inaugural Blues, Brews and Barbecue Festival.

From Noon to 10 p.m., live entertainment will be provided from the center stage by the Sister Lucille Band, Dylan Whitney Band, Papa Green Shoes, The Bel Airs and The Norman Jackson Band. The event will also feature BBQ, and brews provided via the Budweiser Beer Truck.

Additional activities will include bounce houses, children’s activities, ice cream floats by Kilwins and Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper Bottling Company and a raffle for a 2017 Ford Escape.

Raffle tickets are 25-dollars apiece. All proceeds raised during this event will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks. Additional information on this event can be found here. Story appeared on KRZK radio website and the article was written by Tim Church! www.Forsyth-News.com

Bull Shoals bridge project may get webcam!

I received a note from the head engineer of the Bull Shoals bride project who informed me that they were 'looking at getting an Ox Blue construction webcam' if one was available. These are Internet accessible cameras that can allow the public to view to see what the traffic and overall construction progress looks like. Very cool if that were to happen.

He also wanted to reiterate that they were not anticipating back-ups beyond the normal morning and afternoon commutes since the contractor cannot 'close the road during peak hours'. He stated that it is also the 'contractor’s intent is to conduct flagging operations during non-peak hours while they pour the intermediate bents in the lake'.

Finally, he reiterated that 'the only road closure intended for the project will be the time it is needed to make the final tie-ins which can take up to 2 weeks'. But, that they intend to do everything they can ahead of time to greatly reduce this inconvenience. 

I was very happy to hear from them and to know that MODOT and Lehman Construction are doing the absolute best they can to resolve public concerns during the construction phase of a multi million dollar effort that is sure to cause some problems with commuters and emergency personnel even as the engineering experts will be striving to mitigate the pain. www.taneyweather.com

Bull Shoals Bridge Project September 11, 2017

Forsyth MO. – I thought to go down and see what was going on with the Bull Shoals Bridge project, a 10.4 million dollar effort to replace another older bridge structure that had been constructed back in 1951.

The water level in Bull Shoals had dropped to 667.66 feet msl (mean sea level) and so, was almost back to 'normal' levels. Even River Run looked to be drying out! And, since it had been about a week since the official start of the construction effort, I wanted to get some idea of any progress that had been made.

When I arrived in the park area, I noticed that the gate for access to the back of the park had been closed. There were two white vehicles inside along with a couple of men. I couldn't tell if these people were from Lehman Construction (bridge project guys) or were part of some cleanup crew that was trying to get the park back on its feet. 

Off towards the base of the bridge, I could discern what looked like a pile of rocks and maybe some other equipment. Perhaps this was the area (along with the balance of the park behind it) that would serve as a staging ground for materials yet to come. After all, building a structure as a large as a bridge will require an awful lot in terms of components!

I'm hoping to have the opportunity to visit and take pictures of the new bridge as it is erected over the next year. I'm also sure I will hear about the challenges that the city will have to endure in terms of emergency service response times, the busing of students and how the commuters will feel about all this!