See those little yellow things in the water? That’s what caught my eye.
On a bike ride Friday, I took the single one-way lane that is Vine Street from Fourth to Third Avenue when some yellow things in the Santiam Canal caught my eye.
With nothing better to do, I leaned the bike against the fence to take a closer look,
Turns out this was a collection of old tennis balls and softballs. The balls and assorted debris were caught in some kind of eddy, endlessly circling by the side of the canal outside the Vine Street water treatment and hydro plant.
The softballs looked kind of new. How did they end up in the canal?
Well, here’s a possibility. The canal runs along the south side of the ball field at South Albany High School. Maybe those softballs ended up in the water as the result of home runs.
I have never bought a softball and don’t know what they cost. Looking at various offers online, I’m guessing a single one might cost around ten dollars.
If that’s close, then there was about forty bucks circling there in the water.
Who says there is nothing to see in the Santiam Canal on a slow day when actual stories fail to develop? (hh)
Four yellow softballs, some tennis balls and other debris circle near the edge of the canal Friday.
Can’t a city employee scoop that stuff out of the canal?
Perhaps the school district should ban home runs.