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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 26, 2005 A jogger runs past Medford�s Baby Bear Creek, where erosion of the creekbed has exposed material discarded there in the 1920s and 1930s. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Creek rubbish resurfaces City officials warn residents about emerging junk in a small stream near Bear Creek Park By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Broken glass, metal shards, old tires and rubber hoses from a 1930s city dump are surfacing in a small creek near the playground in Bear Creek Park. Residents are advised to stay away from the banks to avoid getting hurt. Greg Jones, Medford city councilman and former parks department director, said the issue resurfaces now and then as the banks around so-called "Baby Bear Creek" erode over time. Testing in 1980 determined there were no chemicals leaking from the dump, he said. Temporary signs warn residents of the hazards: "Keep out of creek. Glass in creek. We are working on a solution," the signs say. But a solution won’t be easy, said Brian Sjothun, parks director. State riparian regulations limit the city’s options for lining the creekbed or disturbing the banks. Storm water and ground water runoff collects in the creek, which begins behind the fire station at Siskiyou Boulevard and Highland Drive. The creek flows through an experimental wetland area, is piped beneath the playground and resurfaces near a picnic area where it enters Bear Creek. Advertisement Jones said there are several spots around the park’s playground and the amphitheater where residents dumped trash in the 1920s and ’30s. According to Mail Tribune archives, the city purchased a 23-acre tract in 1925 from Mollie Keene and used the property as a dump where garbage was burned until 1939. The Girl Scouts then held a day camp there for two decades before abandoning it in 1957 because of vandalism and pollution in Bear Creek. In 1955 a large portion of the Bear Creek property was sold to the Earhart family, who later deeded it back to the city. A story in a July 1958 Mail Tribune summed up residents’ concerns over Bear Creek at the time: "Most observers appear convinced that no matter how much Bear Creek can be cleaned up it will never again be suitable for swimming. Keeping children from the water on hot days, as the Girl Scout counselors well knew, is no easy matter." In 1963 additional property was purchased by the city, and in 1988 the Bear Creek playground was built. Sjothun said when the dump surfaced about 10 years ago, there was talk of putting boulders and some gunite (a concrete and sand mixture) in the creek to cover the exposed hazards. The parks department must check with the Division of State Lands and the Department of Environmental Quality before doing anything. "We’re going to have to revisit what the new regulations are," Sjothun said. The city is considering lining the banks with what some city staff refer to as a "botanical burrito" — rolled-up sod. "It was done under the viaduct and has done quite well," he said. "The most expensive thing we can do is pipe the creek," he said. "We’re not even sure we can (legally) do that." The landfill sites are hit and miss around the 100-acre park, but Baby Bear Creek seems to be a regular site where soil erodes and the old landfill resurfaces, he said. "The water moves through there quite quickly," he said, adding that slowing down the flow is also one of the city’s goals. He said there are no reported injuries from the exposed sharp-edged material. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Creek rubbish resurfaces ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Computer Security Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Air Purifiers Hotel/Motel Reservations Advertisement s