Kyle Hellcamp
senior from
Benton, Ky
(This letter is a response to the the front page article titled “Bridge nightmare” in the Jan. 27 edition of The Murray State News.)
Our community has been rather shaken up by the recent bridge collapse, but given the damage and conditions that night, I hardly consider it to be a “Bridge Nightmare”. There were no deaths.
There were no injuries. Plans were already in the works to replace the 80-year-old bridge. Given that the disaster occurred at night, and on such a foggy evening, I believe the circumstances were rather fortuitous; insofar as a bridge’s collapse can be considered fortunate.
I think The News did very well in covering the event, and obtained some of the first and clearest pictures. Using my ninja-like prowess, I snuck through the woods that night to get a clear view of the scene. Trekking through damp earthen wood and crossing run-off streams reflecting the faint blinking lights flashing across the sky, I managed to get a fairly good vantage point. Yet even this paled in comparison to the photo obtained by The News.
I, like so many of my fellow Kentuckians, am annoyed that NASA destroys our bridge every time the space program is temporarily suspended, but given the circumstances, I think we all came out very lucky.