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IT'S BRIDGES LIKE this one that the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors are trying to figure out what to do with as they examine amendments to a county road policy. The bridge is part of the current county road system, as evidenced by the blue county road sign at left, but a gate complete with a "Beware of the Dog" sign, impedes access across the bridge to anyone in the general public expecting to be able to cross it. Since it is a county road, it is supposed to be open in public travel, with a turn-around at the end according to current county policy. Similar situations where bridges or roads have been built to a single home exist in all seven districts and how to handle those in the revamping of the policy is something at which the board is now taking a serious look. |
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Committee Eyes Road Policy Overhaul
Questions Remain About What to Do with Roads, Bridges Now in System
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by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor |
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Buchanan County’s public road policy is in need of an overhaul, members of a committee appointed by the board of supervisors agreed Tuesday during a two and a half hour session set to look at a proposal to revamp the policy.
In the end, committee members agreed to consider the matter further, examining the policy now in place and attempting to determine what to do about roads and bridges now in the county road system which do not meet defined criteria for being maintained using county tax dollars.
Further at issue is just what that criteria should be.
The discussion Tuesday boiled down to one major question and that question was: "what is a public road?"
In the end, board members present for the committee meeting -- South Grundy Chairman Roger Rife, North Grundy Supervisor Carroll Branham and Knox Supervisor Pat Justus -- together with County Road Engineer Marcus Stiltner, County Attorney Mickey McGlothlin and County Administrator W.J. Caudill agreed to take up the issues again at a meeting next week.
The real problem gets to be not so much what to do in the future, but what to do about what’s happened in the past, Rife said.
He identified specific scenarios involving roads through subdivisions, the lack of turn-arounds and roads or bridges which appear to lead to only one residence.
"I will not be responsible for anything that happened behind me," Branham said.
Rife said what had happened in the past was also what concerned him.
"Some of the things in here," he said, referring to the county’s proposed road policy, were things not followed prior to the time when we came on the board."
He said in some cases, roads may have been taken in the county road system which met a three-house criteria then, but which now have less homes or even none located on them.
"Do we grandfather in those roads, or do we take them out of the system?" Rife asked.
Branham said he had seen instances in the North Grundy district, which he just recently was appointed to represent, where roads went through coal company property and then led to private homes.
County bridges, Rife said, are a whole other story.
"Legally, we can do work on any road that we approve as the board of supervisors, but my thoughts is the policy we adopt is one that should be followed." |
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For more of the
story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at
newsstands now. To subscribe to the Mountaineer,
call 276-935-2123 today.
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Plans for County Fair Are Underway
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by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor |
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Plans
for
the
Buchanan
County
Fair
are
moving
forward,
Sandy
Shortridge,
one
of
the
volunteer
organizers
of
the
fair
told
members
of
the
Buchanan
County
Board
of
Supervisors,
last
Monday.
Shortridge, who attended the meeting with
several
other
fair
committee
members,
asked
board
members
for
a
contribution
of
$35,000
for
the
fair.
She
pointed
out
the
amount
was
$20,600
less
than
the
fair
committee
received
for
the
fair
last
year.
"We promised we would work toward being
self-sufficient,"
Shortridge
said.
South Grundy Chairman Roger Rife
told
Shortridge
he
was
pleased
with
the
way
last
year’s
fair
had
gone,
and
he
added
he
hoped
committee
members
would
continue
to
work
to
make
the
fair
more
self-supporting.
Rife said last year’s horse
show
had
been
a
big
success,
adding
that
one
night
he
estimated
there
were
as
many
as
4,000
people
there.
Rain
the
night
of
the
show,
however,
caused
some
100
entries
to
have
to
be
refunded.
Garden Supervisor Buddy
Fuller
said
in
his
opinion
the
horse
show
was
about
the
only
success
at
last
year’s
fair.
Buchanan County Chamber
of
Commerce
Director
Mary
Belcher,
who
also
volunteered
with
the
fair
committee
last
year,
noted
that
volunteers
are
the
people
who
work
the
fair
events
each
year.
"I commend you for
it,"
Rife
said.
"I
know
some
of
you
worked
long
hours.
The
only
way
to
drive
the
cost
down
is
to
get
volunteers."
Fuller expressed concern
about
local
talent
not
being
used
enough
for
the
fair,
however,
Shortridge
noted
a
lot
of
local
talent
was
used.
"I don’t like
the
way
it
was
run,"
Fuller
said.
Shortridge noted
every
decision
made
about
the
fair,
the
talent
used
and
the
events
held
was
voted
on
and
she
said
the
fact
remained
that
not
everyone
could
be
booked.
"Did you attend the
fair
last
year?"
Shortridge
asked.
"I
didn’t
think
you
did.
.
."
"No," Fuller
said,
"I’m
disenchanted
with
it."
Rife expressed his
appreciation
to
Shortridge
and
the
other
volunteers
who
work
the
fair
each
year.
Belcher noted it is
often
easy
for
people
watching
the
event
from
the
outside
to
criticize,
but
she
reminded
the
supervisors
that
volunteers
take
a
lot
of
verbal
abuse
from
the
public
as
they
try
to
put
on
the
event.
"Volunteers
carry
a
lot
of
burden
of
it,"
Belcher
said.
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For more of the
story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at
newsstands now. To subscribe to the Mountaineer,
call 276-935-2123 today.
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