Mules to aid effort C Hill effort

C Hill project organizers are promising free food to Carson City residents willing to join a crew of pack mules this weekend hauling cement bags up the hill.

Free hot dogs and burgers will be served, said project coordinator Mike Roach, and four mules will take a bit of the burden off human volunteers on Saturday.

Over the past month, 12 prison workers and a handful of Carson City residents have moved 3,000 40-pound bags of cement from the Carson High School recreation field to a spot on C Hill a quarter-mile from the project site.

They are trying to reinstate a permanent, windproof version of the 8,000-square-foot American flag formerly posted above the city's white trademark "C."

So far, 1,000 pounds of concrete have been used to fill several foundation holes. But organizers fear they will not make their Nevada Day deadline if they don't get a lot more manpower in the mix.

"We could use up 10 or 20 more people on Saturday, but we'll need a lot more for Sunday," Roach said.

He said he has not received one call from residents who aren't already involved in the effort.

The group needs to fill 50 holes with cement, and each hole takes 60 bags.

The project has seen its share of setbacks and glitches over the past two years, after a December 2002 windstorm tore the original flag to pieces and bent its metal frame.

In an attempt to airlift the cement bags to C Hill in June, a metal platform holding a 9,000-pound load snapped after takeoff, igniting worry among residents living under the helicopter's flight path.

National Guard representatives said last month's Waterfall fire ruined any chances of helicopter help. The fire burned away all vegetation on the hill, creating potential for a blinding dust storm created by rotating helicopter blades.

Volunteers have been making do and lugging cement by hand, Roach said, but they simply need more arms to help.

After the foundation holes are filled with cement, more volunteers will be needed to build the flag frame and install its panels

To help carry cement bags this weekend, call Roach at 720-3598, or report to the lot behind Greenhouse Garden Center at the intersection of Rhodes and Curry Streets at 10 a.m. Saturday or Sunday.

People with four-wheel drives will also be appreciated to take volunteers up the hill, Roach said.

You can help

To help carry cement bags a quarter of a mile this weekend, call Mike Roach at 720-3598, or report to the lot behind Greenhouse Garden Center at the intersection of Rhodes and Curry streets at 10 a.m. Saturday or Sunday.

Contact Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.