The first Cars toys have hit the shelves here in Tulsa. Pictured above are the Doc Hudson lollipop case (what a great idea — convenient storage for those moments when you don’t have time to get all the way to the center of your Tootsie Roll pop in one sitting) and the Lightning McQueen and Ramone spin pops. You insert a lollipop into the front of each car, stick first, and push the button on the back to make it spin.

I don’t get it, either, but they didn’t have any talking sheriff’s cars or Fillmore the VW bongs, so I had to settle for what I could get.

Emily

UPDATE: I just brought these to the office, where our astute editorial assistant noticed that not only do the lollipops rotate, but the cars’ eyes move back and forth on the spin pops.

About a month ago, it was reported here that Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry announced he was signing a bill to allocate $125 million in emergency bridge repairs.

The funding would have targeted load-posted bridges in particular. I was especially concerned with the Captain Creek Bridge on old Route 66 near Wellston. The photo above is from the comprehensive Oklahoma Bridges site. It's a distinctive pony-truss bridge and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I want safe bridges as much as anyone, but I didn't want the look of a historic bridge to compromised in the repair process.

I e-mailed the governor about my concerns and urged that the bridge be repaired, not replaced. A few days later, I received a letter from Gov. Henry's office, stating that my remarks had been forwarded to the proper highway authorities.

Today, I received this letter from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation:

Your March 20th e-mail concerning the Captain Creek Bridge near Wellston was forwarded to me from Governor Henry's office. Although I received it toward the end of March, I've been waiting to correspond back to you pending a decision by officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation regarding this particular bridge. I'm glad to say I have good news.

Your letter could hardly have been timelier as officials were reviewing ways to improve the Captain Creek Bridge at the time it arrived. The decision has been made that improvements will be undertaken so that the bridge's "pony" trusses will not be impacted.

The Captain Creek Bridge presented us with a number of challenges that made improvements to the existing bridge particularly attractive. However, before the decision as to the most prudent and feasible alternative could be made, engineers had to study the bridge to make sure it could be improved without destroying its historical character. It was during that study that your letter arrived. Without getting into the specific upgrades that are planned, I am told that improvements will be made to the bridge's deck in a way that will not impact the structure's historical character.

Thank you for your concern in the matter, and please know that your letter was well-received and helpful in determining this matter.

Sincerely,

David Meuser
Public Affairs Division
Oklahoma Department of Transportation

Yep, I'm pretty happy. And score one for local government that listens to its residents. This is an illustration that an involved citizenry can make an impact on public policy — including Route 66.

The Geezer Riders, dealing with cooler temperatures in the higher elevations, take in sights such as the Petrified Forest National Park and Meteor Crater. The group bedded down in Flagstaff after riding their Harleys nearly 400 miles. This story is the latest in a series by the Mainichi Daily News in Japan.

Riverton is an unincorporated town of about 600 people on old Route 66 in Kansas. Except for the Mother Road, the historic Eisler Bros. Store, lead mines and electrical plant, it doesn't draw much attention.

Except for now. Local authorities say they foiled an alleged plot by five Riverton High School students to start a Columbine-type massacre. The local sheriff says his department's investigation has uncovered details of threats against specific people, guns and the suspects' fascination with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Apparently, details of the plot were found on a myspace.com page of one of the suspects.

Joplin, Mo., is the closest big town to Riverton, and the Joplin Globe has a story about the alleged plot here. But the story has been picked up by news wires and disseminated nationwide.

About the only good thing you can say about this disturbing story is that no one was injured or killed.

UPDATE: The Joplin Globe has excellent coverage of the alleged plot in its Saturday edition. The curious thing is that charges still haven't been filed, and there's a question of whether the suspects are being jailed illegally.

I'm getting a suspicion that the case may be shaky. Could this alleged plot have been mere off-the-cuff comments and not a real conspiracy? It still would be dumb for a student to shoot off his mouth in such a way in a post-Columbine climate. But empty threats are still a far cry from attempted mass murder.