Round Valley superintendent falls from Eel River bridge

<p>Round Valley's new superintendent of schools apparently plunged to his death from a Highway 101 bridge that hovers up to 255 feet above the Eel River bed just south of the Humboldt County line.</p><p>The death of Kevin Jolly, 45, remains under investigation, said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb. Foul play is not suspected, he said.</p><p>It's the first time someone has died in a fall from the bridge, one of two built as part of a project to bypass the perennial rock slides at Confusion Hill, said Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie. The project was completed last summer.</p><p>Jolly was reported missing Thursday. His vehicle was located Friday, parked near the Confusion Hill tourist attraction in Piercy, triggering a search, Smallcomb said.</p><p>A woman who works at the gravity-defying tourist attraction said one of Jolly's family members told her he had recently been sad.</p><p>Jolly's death shocked and saddened his former and current colleagues.</p><p>“Oh my gosh. I'm sick,” said Dave Kemp, president of the Burbank Unified School District board, Jolly's employer until June 30.</p><p>“It's a tragedy,” said Mendocino County Superintendent of Schools Paul Tichinin.</p><p>Jolly worked for the Burbank school district for a year. He also had worked for school districts in Sacramento and Modoc counties.</p><p>Jolly took the helm of the troubled Round Valley School District July 1, Tichinin said. His family was in transition and had not yet moved to Round Valley, he said.</p><p>The new job was challenging. Round Valley schools have suffered low test scores and low attendance for years and is being overseen by the county schools and state. Progress has been made, but it's slow going, Tichinin said.</p><p>Jolly was looking for a challenge and would have excelled at the job, Kemp said.</p><p>“This was the kind of work he was so great at,” he said.</p><p>Jolly quit the Burbank district because he wanted to make more of a difference. The Burbank district's schools already were doing well on test scores when he took over. Jolly wanted to push the schools from good to outstanding in a short period of time, ruffling some feathers along the way, Kemp said.</p><p>Jolly was an avid hiker and runner and had a wonderful family, including a wife and several children, he said.</p><p>Kemp spoke with Jolly last week and did not sense anything was wrong.</p><p>“He said he was busy getting ready to hire a principal,” Jolly said. “I'm stunned.”</p><p>Tichinin said Round Valley school officials will meet Tuesday to discuss hiring an interim superintendent.</p>