Back in mid-August, things looked like they could get exciting in Nockamixon. Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley (who missed the boat on the chance to name him “Clyde?”) were, for a few days, looking as though they might echo another pair of hurricanes that swept up the coast exactly 49 years earlier to cause the worst flooding this area had ever seen. But then Bonnie spun herself out before making landfall, and Charley spent the majority of his fury in the South. By the time he made it up this far, he was mostly bluster and not far enough inland to do much damage, so we lucked out.

Another bit of luck for those of us who live in or travel through Ferndale is the progress being made on the replacement of the crumbling concrete bridge across the Gallows Run beneath Church Hill Road. That’s right, folks: the time has come. They’re actually going to start working on the bridge in the spring of next year! Though he didn’t have an ETA on the completion date, PennDOT’s Roger Joseph assures me that work is to begin in earnest when the weather starts to warm after the holidays.

Though I’m sure it’ll get worse before it gets better, it’s nice to know that the obnoxious temporary abutments, annoying stop sign and the dangerous traffic patterns they cause will not be with us forever. The project is now on the docket as opposed to just hanging out there in limbo land. I understand the Ferndale Inn’s Karen Baron is pretty happy to hear the news, and I’ll bet there are a few school bus drivers who share her enthusiasm.

Now to the Witness. Kintnersville resident and professional artist Todd Stone is doing us proud with his current exhibit of fifteen imposing watercolor paintings of the scenes he saw from the rooftop of his Tribeca (Manhattan) studio on September 11, 2001. Through September 29, you can see the stunning power of Todd’s work in a show titled “Witness” at the gallery in Northampton College’s Communications Hall in Bethlehem.

Todd will be giving a lecture about his experience and artwork at 11:00 am on September 7 at the college. I urge all our neighbors to make the trek if at all possible. It’s not every day we have the chance to celebrate one of our own in such a meaningful way.

The paintings were based on photos Todd took from his rooftop after the first plane hit the Tower that fateful day. He tells how he and his wife, Lori, were there “on that sunny morning when the first jet roared over the skylight and slammed into the North Tower, six blocks away.” He had been photographing the skyline the day before, and had his tripod already set up. “I took my first photo,” he remembers, “within seconds of the impact, as the pigeons were lifting to the sound of the explosion.”

The gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3835 Green Pond Road in Bethlehem. For more information, contact Tom Shillea at 610-861-5062.