COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME TO THE PLACE I BELONG
 | Author:
Dwight Thompson
Vic Sample: MT43 News Treasurer |
Country Roads, Take Me Home to the Place I Belong
Dwight Thompson
A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity, or should I say the privilege, to help out the county road department with mowing some county road ditches. Yes, I had some experience driving a tractor from years gone by and had picked many a rock and fixed fence, so this was going to be a piece of cake, I thought.
The reason for mowing the ditches is primarily to keep snow from drifting across the roads come winter, and fire mitigation. On my first day, I showed up promptly at 6am and listened to the morning briefing by Road Supervisor Ken Nelson. I quickly realized that the crew takes their jobs very seriously.
Of the over 800 miles of county roads to maintain, the priority is school bus and mail routes. Mowing was not going to include all the roads. After a safety brief and orientation of the equipment, I headed out.
Very quickly I realized that driving, I mean bouncing off kilter and constantly looking back and raising and lowering the mower, was going to be work. All those years of my youth fixing fence and being told that mine was the worst looking fencing work ever, I was proud of my fences. Not long into my first day I hooked into barbed wire that had been left on the ground covered by tall grass. Of course, with everything running it took a second to get shut down and took me awhile to cut the wrapped up tangled mess out.
Moving at 2-3 miles an hour you hope see things in the ditches like rocks that can ruin the blades in a hurry. I now know why we had to keep our ditches clear of stuff. Thanks to deep ditches and hidden culverts, I have had the tractor teetering on 3 wheels a few times, thinking how am I going to explain that the mower is lying on its side and can they break away from their graders to come take care of my created mess.
Enough about me, what I wanted to point out is the Unsung Heros of the county. The full-time crew that works to maintain our roads. The fact that the county road crew had 4 employees 40 years ago and now, with all the new roads, new subdivisions etc., they maintain with, guess what- 4 guys. A task that is, in my opinion not possible to do it all.
I hear people complaining that their road needs graded, they need more gravel, trees need cut, want dust control etc., etc. These guys also maintain their own equipment, sometimes using their own tools. Their mechanic and welding skills save our county thousands every year.
So, from my seat, I would like to point out some basic road care for our county roads. These are gravel roads, not highways, and they need to be treated differently. Gravel gets moved off mostly by high speed. I have had people go by me I know are doing over 60 mph spewing gravel off the road.
Potholes get bigger when you drive in them. I would lose my driving privileges for a week if I drove through a pothole that could have been avoided. The base of the pothole is soft; driving through it makes it deeper.
Don’t throw large rocks in your ditches or those of your neighbor. Take a drive in the subdivisions and where there is an empty lot, be assured you will find rocks. The cost of mower blades are over 400 dollars. Would you take your mower through there? I have to raise the mower deck above the rocks if I am lucky enough to see them.
This doesn’t help when the snow drifts in, possibly closing your road. We are due for some winters like we had in the 70s and roads being drifted in for days. You go into a very scary “Survival Mode” when this happens. We all know the saying, “When it rains it pours”. During a blizzard the electricity lines go down, the furnace quits, the gas man can’t get to your place, fireman and ambulance can’t help you.
I remember the sigh of relief from my parents when the County would get to us and the road opened. We all live here because we want a simpler life.
I was given the privilege to walk in the shoes of another man’s job, and it was an eye opener in more ways than one. I think it would be great for MT43 News to do a story on our county road department. past and present. It would help us all to better understand what it takes to build and maintain our county roads.
Please take a minute to slow down and reflect on John Denver’s song “Take me home, Country Roads. I hope the next time you travel the county roads, you can slow down, sit back, smile and take in the beautiful place we all call home.
May you all arrive safely.
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PhotoCredit: Dwight Thompson
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