Letter to the Editor:
Them dirt road blues
Who Am I?
I am the retired person that likes to read the news, but can’t get the paper delivered.
I am the young homemaker who can’t get a pizza delivered on Friday night as a treat for my children.
I am the disabled person who has to wade through the mud to check my mailbox, which had to be re-located to the main highway.
I am the father of three who lost valuable time from work because I had to wait on a wrecker to pull my truck from the mud.
I am the mother and grandmother who have to wade through the mud to the main highway to catch my ride to chemotherapy.
I am the grandmother who lost her grandchild due to an accident possibly because of the delay in getting an emergency vehicle down my dirt road.
I am the wife of a disabled husband that had to request emergency help twice in one week and spent what seems like hours waiting on help.
I am the garbage man that if the road isn’t fixed will possibly have to suspend service.
I am the Fed-Ex driver who was a day late delivering a package because I had to request that the recipient meet me on the paved road.
I am the woman that has to pay more for prescription drugs or risk them being stolen from my mailbox.
I am the woman who worked all my life and finally got a new car only to get stuck in the mud and ruin my car, which will possibly be totaled.
I am the young man out doing yard work trying to make a few honest dollars only to get stuck in the mud, which throws me off my schedule.
I am the child who can’t ride her bicycle or buy an ice cream from the ice-cream truck because he can’t get down my dirt road.
I am the older person who can’t walk for exercise or visit my neighbors because I don’t drive and my road is a muddy mess.
I am the child who has to walk a half-mile and wait on the main highway in the dark because my school bus can’t get down my road any more.
I am the retired person who was cut short on my food money because I had to have my car towed from the mud.
I am one of the many residents who have given money to another resident who tried his best to help fix our road only to be literally spinning his wheels when the next rain came.
We are the residents of Grand Farms West who only want what we are legally entitled to under Act 87 which states, “Any private dirt road in existence before 1984 can legally be maintained by the County."
You are Our County Commissioner in District 3 who told us to prove that our road fell under the guidelines of this act.
You are our County Commissioner to whom we furnished the proof our road was in existence in 1979.
You are the County Commissioner who is now saying that we want you to pave our road and do something illegal (Whoopee Do) which you know, to put it mildly, is false. We are only asking for drainage and maintenance.
You are the County Commissioner who stated, “If I am not re-elected, you people will be back to square one and won’t get a road for at least four years."
You are the County Commissioner who has given us the run around since 2001 and when you ran out of excuses stopped communicating with us; meanwhile our road continues to worsen.
You are the County Commissioner who likes to take all the credit for anything positive being done in our County.
You are the County Commissioner who when mugging for the media cameras needs to think of the people you supposedly represent. What a farce!
You are the County Commissioner who stated that “We will take care of the people in District 1, which is presently without a Commissioner.”
Mr. Dean, you can’t even take care of your own district! As my mama used to say, “Clean around your own back door.”
Spinning our wheels and patiently waiting,
Mary Fye,
Grand Farms Road, Grand Bay
(Dean's campaign representatives and county officials were contacted about a response to Fye's letter, but none has yet been received.)
