Plans for ditch had holes

When College President Nancy Dye heard a developer wanted to dig a deep ditch through North Fields, she was a bit concerned. Perhaps she envisioned Horsecows flying dangerously over the chasm, or perhaps she imagined unsuspecting Rhino Ruggers rucking into the gorge.

The College decided to dig a bit deeper into the problem.

According to a recent agreement between the College and developer Larry Funk of North Shore Properties, the ditch will not be dug.

"I'm amazed at how much as College President I've learned about drainage," Dye said.

Last Fall, Funk proposed building a housing development on N. Prospect Street , a notoriously soggy stretch of land. The land was useless without a ditch.

It now appears we're going to run the runoff from the site in a pipe to the Herrick ditch," Funk said last week.

Dye said, "The wetlands will be protected. It's good for the city, good for the developer."

Funk wasn't quite as quick to charcterize the resolution as a good one. "Some parts of it don't make a lot of sense to me," he said.

Funk said he hopes to break ground in June.