Town of Mentz Supervisor Jack O'Neil knew trouble was brewing.

After a two-month effort, he was finally able to get a meeting together of community leaders on July 19 to discuss what was to be done about the Haiti Island bridge, which was deteriorating into a serious safety problem. The bridge was badly in need of repair.

It turns out that O'Neil was right on the money. Only eight days later, a part of the bridge fell down. Due to Supervisor O'Neil's foresight, things moved a lot more quickly than they would otherwise.

About 60 people live on Haiti Island and this bridge is their only way of getting onto Route 38. It's also the only way for emergency vehicles to get to the island. Water, propane, groceries, laundry and fuel deliveries all depend on the bridge.

This all started back in 1990 when a snow plow fell through the bridge and a temporary metal and wood Bailey bridge was built inside of the old one. It's the old bridge that has partially collapsed. However, further breaking could affect the Bailey bridge, too.

Since the shutdown, a lot has happened. Residents have really pulled together as a team to help one another get through this crisis. Lowe's gave orange plastic snow fencing as a safety measure for the bridge. Pirates Landing, a nearby business, offered their parking lot for people to leave their vehicles so they could walk across the bridge to their homes. Mennonites mowed one of their fields and gave permission to use it as parking space. Now that the bridge has been opened to ATVs, the All County All-Terraine Vehicles Club has offered to transport people and supplies across the bridge.

When I went there to take a look at the situation, I saw one volunteer wading through the water, clearing out wood and debris, while another one was dragging wood away in a small motor boat. If anything good has come out of this terrible situation, it's seeing what can be done when people care enough to help each other when it's needed the most.

Various branches of state and local government have been brought in to alleviate hardship and give hope to the islanders. State Sen. Michael Nozzolio has asked Governor Eliot Spitzer to declare a state of emergency in Mentz. After meeting with the residents of Haiti Island, Nozzolio said, “It was apparent to me that we must act quickly, cut the bureaucratic red tape, and address this emergency situation. ”He also encouraged the county Legislature to move $1.7 million which had been allocated for repairs on another bridge that had been closed for 10 years to fix the Haiti bridge. This was accomplished at their last meeting.

“I'd like to thank the county Legislature for giving serious consideration to the critical situation the Haiti residents were in by breaking precedent and allocating money that was set aside for county improvements to the town of Mentz,” O'Neil said.

Judy Ducayne's column appears Tuesdays in The Citizen, and

she can be contacted at sacredheart6005@hotmail.com