In the June Quorum Court Meeting, Lawrence County Judge John Thomison faced concerns from residents during the open discussion part of the meeting.
A resident from the Black Rock area stated concern about the current way the county was maintaining the roads. The resident stated the current policy of “flat grading” the roads was not the correct way to maintain the roads. The resident also stated that he had approached the grader operator and received a rude response from the county employee.
The County Judge assured the resident that the Lawrence County Road Department was to receive training on “crowning” the roads, Judge Thomison has secured a grant to improve the county roads and stated that training was included in the future for the department.
Thomison also made it clear that the road department had been extremely busy since the late April flooding which caused damage to the roads. Thomison also extended an apology to the resident for the response he’d received from a county employee and said he would address this.
Included in the discussion concerning the roads was the amount of dust produced on Lawrence 210 by the American Silica Co. According to the County Judge, the company has purchased a pallet of material to be placed on the road to seal the surface therefore reducing the dust. Residents in the area have complained about the dust stating that health problems are being reported since the company began operation.
Thomison reassured those in the meeting that the county roads were a great concern of his, stating that he was working closely with the Lawrence County Road Department to not only repair but to improve the state of the roads in Lawrence County.
Lawrence County is among 31 counties that were declared a disaster by Gov. Asa Hutchinson after the late April flooding.