For years – and people can even say decades really – ATVs, 4wheelers and off terrain vehicles have been an ongoing issue with Supervisors in the county, along with the municipalities of the county, and one citizen went before the board hoping they could draft an ordinance or something holding parents accountable. But, before jumping into the agenda, the board held a moment of silence for a long time member of the District 3 road crew, Smokey Miles. After the moment of silence, they then opened the meeting with Ryan Vowell being first. Vowell went before the Supervisors at their meeting on Monday, July 1, about this issue. He said on his road there are kids riding four wheelers that tear up the road and there have been wrecks. He said he wanted to know if there was something the county could do about it or a way to hold the parents responsible. Board Attorney Kasey Young said she wasn’t sure if it was a way to hold the parents responsible, but if a child does something, they’re sent to youth court and fined and the parents pay the fine that way. Supervisor Rodney Bowman said there are laws on the books to where a person could be cited for not wearing a helmet, driving recklessly, and other things. “I’ve been having issues on my roads, and I contacted the Sheriff’s Department and they worked to track down those who were doing it,” Bowman said. Supervisors Greg Fondren and Chris McIntire said it’s something they’ve both been dealing with since being in office with Supervisors John Shumaker and Joey Stephenson nodding in agreement. “It’s hard to track them down because it’s like 40 groups of them,” Fondren said. “It’s people that aren’t in the county or from an area of the county that are coming over and tearing up the roads and the residents are left to deal with it,” McIntire said. The Town of Weir is currently dealing with the same issue of fourwheelers. Supervisors encour- aged Vowell to contact the Sheriff’s depart- ment when he sees it happening. He said because he works one month on and one month off, it’s hard for him to keep up with it. Vowell also asked about training for road hands, if a can could be closer for those who aren’t able to access the county dump, and if residents are supposed to operate equipment at the dump, to which Supervisors responded no and said it’s something they’ll address.
