Nearly two months ago, flash flooding devastated county Route 7 in the town of Colchester, leaving four people dead and millions of dollars in damage.

Since that time, the road, also called Cat Hollow and state Route 206, has been closed. The only people legally allowed on the road are residents of the road or contractors repairing and rebuilding damaged houses.

But many people seem to think the closure doesn’t apply to them. More than 200 people have been ticketed for traveling on the road that connects Downsville and Roscoe, according to town of Colchester Justice Theodore Fonda.

"I have heard some amazing excuses," Fonda said. "Everything from, `MapQuest didn’t tell me,’ to `the cops weren’t there to stop me.’"

The `road closed’ signs are clear and are impossible to miss _ they warn drivers that if they are caught, they will be ticketed. There are no excuses.

Lisa Reed, Delaware County Public Works commissioner’s assistant, said the nine-mile stretch will be closed through the rest of the summer. More than $1 million has already been spent on the road and bridge repairs. She said eight of the nine bridges sustained damage, and there are also damaged bridges on side roads.

The detour adds about 20 to 25 minutes to the ride, and using the closed road can be tempting. But the road is closed for one simple reason _ it is unsafe for travel.

We encourage law enforcement agencies to continue to strictly enforce the ban and also urge people to stay off the road.

Communication needed on tower

The flap over a Walton cell tower highlights how confusing and convoluted town-village relations can get.

The issues under dispute are valid ones: if plans change for a project after it has been approved, can the project proceed without being resubmitted for approval?

What makes this situation hard to follow, however, is the timeline. The whole thing started in February 2006 when the matter was first brought to the Walton Town Board. The village code enforcement officer said no building permit was necessary, and work began on the tower, which was supposed to resemble a flagpole.

Plans changed last August, according to town Supervisor John Meredith, to accommodate emergency services antennas. A year later, with the tower nearly complete, the village has issued a stop-work order because of the new design.

Whether this matter goes to court or gets resolved with a simple meeting, the issue here is obviously one of communication. It’s difficult to believe the village had no awareness of the new design until last week if it had been discussed in open meetings and reported in the local newspaper a year ago. On the other hand, it isn’t surprising that some people don’t like the new design, which lacks the aesthetic appeal of a flagpole.

The need for local cell phone service is more important than any power struggle between village and town officials. We hope the town and village can resolve this without legal action and agree on a way to provide this service.