Since You Asked: Weeds are high in Highway 99 median

Q: Regarding the median on Highway 99 between Highway 20 and Sunsweet Boulevard, how high do the weeds have to grow before Caltrans does something to eliminate the eyesore they create? What is the long-range plan for said median?

A: Some of those weeds were about 6 feet tall last week, leading us to wonder if they weren't being used in place of oleanders like those found farther north in the Highway 99 median.

Caltrans spokesman Mark Dinger said a maintenance crew has already cut that section four times this year.

Seems those darn weeds grow like ... weeds.

The good news, Dinger said, is that the city of Yuba City will take over landscaping this year on that section of road.

Yuba City Public Works Director George Musallam said the project will begin this summer and will include street lights, concrete, trees and shrubs in the median.

The City Council recently awarded about $200,000 in Yuba City Redevelopment Agency funds to Newland Entities, a local firm, which will undertake the project.

Sounds like a definite improvement in appearance.

In defense of Caltrans, Dinger said a 12-person maintenance crew has 80 miles of highway to take care of in Sutter County. If shoulders are included, it comes to about 300 acres of vegetation to tend, he said.

And frankly, Dinger said, weed cutting is a low priority compared to other types of maintenance that have to do with safety.

Q: I've been giving furniture and clothing to the Salvation Army store in Marysville for about four years. Recently, when I took some items there, they were loaded directly into a truck and I was told that donations "go everywhere." I was always under the impression that donated stuff stays local.

A: Usually, the stuff does stay local — unless the store has a surplus of the particular items being donated. In that case, they could go to another store, said Stefanie Vrapi, program director of the Salvation Army's Sacramento division.

It's also possible the items you donated were taken to a Marysville warehouse for processing the next day, Vrapi said.

Regardless of which store sells donated items, profits go toward running the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center in Sacramento, which serves a lot of Yuba-Sutter residents, she said.

Since You Asked is published Tuesdays. Send questions to reporter Rob Young at the Appeal-Democrat, P.O. Box 431, Marysville CA 95901, e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com or call 749-4710.