Improving Safety and Traffic at Shiloh Junction

Just a few years ago, the powers that be in our Binyamin region thought they were improving our lives by building a sort of bus stop/hitchhiking post on Highway 60 going north at the Shiloh Junction. It has a bench, top and backing. For safety there are even a few poles that in theory would stop a terrorist vehicle from ramming into waiting Jews seated there.

Yes, in theory, sitting at some desk, designed and planned by "experts" who own cars and get cars from their employers, that bus stop/hitchhiking post is a gem.

But for us, those who get dropped off there, or those who have to that bus stop/hitchhiking post, it's terrifying.

• The bus stop/hitchhiking post is far north from the Shiloh junction.
• There's no safety barrier, or even sidewalk between the "shelter" and the turnoff to Shiloh.
• Walking to the Shiloh turnoff requires walking directly into traffic, and most of the traffic is Arab. 
• Walking from the Shiloh turnoff requires having your back to the traffic.
• All this brings up my post traumatic stress from the terror attack, first ramming, in which I was injured over twenty years ago.

A couple of months ago, there was an announcement that due to the heavy traffic by the Shiloh Junction, we're being upgraded to a traffic light. 

Thank Gd, more than just a traffic light will be gracing our junction. The entire Shiloh Junction is being upgraded. There will be designated lanes for right turns. The construction of this new Shiloh Junction has been causing traffic delays most nights. It's far from finished, but the terrifying walk along the road is now a thing of the past. Last night I happily hopped, skipped and jumped while making my way through the dirt and rocks until I could cross the road and catch a ride going into Shiloh. The icing on the cake was when someone offered me a ride before I even reached the sidewalk. 

Next big request is that they make that  bus stop/hitchhiking post into an official bus stop, so we'll have more transportation northwards to Eli, Ariel and Tapuach. Gd willing....

FIRE!! West of Shiloh by The Vineyards

Everything was going fine for me on my way home from work this afternoon. That is until I got out the tremp/ride at the Shiloh Junction. It stank, and it was full of smoke. Just across the way, to the west of Shiloh I could see smoke and some flames over the vineyard. No, this wasn't a small localized fire. It spread all around. The only thing that kept the flames low was the simple fact that there wasn't all that much to burn, not many trees, mostly low brush. The soldier waiting at the stop, at which I found myself, said that it had been going on for two hours. I could see a few fire trucks.

Deja vu, all I could think of was the fire about twenty years ago. Arabs has set the first small vineyards alight, and my son was one of the volunteers who put it out. Once the fire was out, it was decided to plant many more grapevines there, and now the area is full of grapes which are well-known for the excellent wines they make. And, yes, the same son began working that summer planting the grape vines.

Here are some pictures of the fire. I apologize for the lack of focus and composition. I, literally, couldn't see the camera's screen and just blindly aimed and shot:

PS In a news report on the internet, it claims that there are olive trees on fire. A neighbor who had been with the crew trying to put out the fire confirmed that olive trees were burnt to a crisp.