Does this "pothole" look familiar?

 

County Commissioners Seek Grant to
Repair County Roads

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Does the picture above look familiar? It's certain to be familiar if you live down a rural Hopkins County road and many of the streets in Sulphur Springs are just as bad or worse. We've endured one of the wettest autumn and winter seasons, on record. And, that is why the Hopkins County Commissioner's Court is applying for a grant to aid in fixing rural roads in Hopkins County. They approved the application for the grant at Monday's Hopkins County Commissioner's Court meeting. The block grant is for a maximum of $350,000.00, for the entire county and if approved will be divided among the four precincts.

"My portion will 'just be a drop in the bucket' for repairing the roads in my precinct!" exclaimed Precinct #1 Commissioner Beth Wisenbaker. "But, every little bit helps and my portion will be used for more materials to apply to repairing the roads!"

Wisenbaker advised that the application is through the Office of Rural and Community Development and is for damages that the roads incurred in October and November of 2009. "I annually budget $300-$350,000.00 for road repairs in my precinct," stated Wisenbaker. "But in October-December of 2009, I had already spent ove $166,000.00, and that wasn't even keeping-up. The roads are critical and we need all the help we can get in purchasing materials."

"I'm excited about the possibility of getting these funds and getting them put to use on my roads!" continued Wisenbaker. "There's certainly plenty of places to put them to work!"

Wisenbaker advised that the grant application was quite detailed and would be submitted in the next couple of weeks, and that hopefully they would receive approval in a month to six weeks. "Keep your fingers crossed that we receive the money and can put it to work in rural Hopkins County!" stated Wisenbaker.

 

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