LOOK UP: Lewis Keller was shocked to look outside his bedroom
window a few days ago and see an American bald eagle. Mind you,
now, Lewis doesn’t live in some remote rural area but at 175 E.
Main St.

Lewis mother, Luanne Keller, tells us this beautiful bird had a
huge wing span. They rushed to get a camera but — “in an instant,
he was gone,” she tells us.

Believe it or not, this is not the first bald eagle reported to
us along East Main Street in Bradford. If little old Tuna Creek is
offering these glamorous birds a free meal it would be testament to
the stream’s improving health.

FADED LINES: Jeanette Smith of Mount Jewett tells us she was
driving her daughter to work in Bradford in early April and ran
into an early morning thunderstorm.

“Visibility was very poor due to the heavy rain. As we drove 219
north from Lantz Corners, both of us remarked on the painted lines
on the roadway.

“These lines are normally painted in the fall, shortly before
being covered with ice and snow, and being plowed over and treated
to large doses of salt and sand. The result is that when the roads
are again bare, in some places these lines are very faint.

“On Monday, in the dark, I blamed the visibility. Today in
bright daylight, I realized the paint itself is so faded it is
nearly gone in some areas.

“Can anything be done? Or does an accident have to occur
first?”

We put the questions to Marla Fannin, the PR lady for the state
Department of Transportation in this region. Help is on the way,
she tells us!

This time of year, she acknowledged, paint lines are faded from
the ravages of winter. But two crews dedicated solely to line
painting, are about to begin their duties throughout the district.
Typically, crews start in the south because of warmer
conditions.

Route 219 is one roadway that the state paints on a regular
basis, but the goal is to hit each road at least once.

Marla pointed out that painting is dependent on weather and
temperatures. Roads should be as dry as possible before paint is
applied. Paint runs in certain climate conditions — rain, in
particular — making it counter-productive to the goal of setting
out visible, clear lines.