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2010-02-09

2010-01-19

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Saturday, October 31, 2009 10:00 AM

Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald

Two trucks remain stuck in the mud Friday afternoon after a night of “mudding” Thursday on a minimum maintenance road near the intersection of Haskell and Georgia roads west of Homewood. Minimum-maintenance roads are popular for mudding because they have a dirt surface and typically don’t have a lot of houses or traffic, Jim Haag, public works director for the county, said.

Trucks, damage remain after ‘mudding’

By VICKIE MOSS, Herald Public Affairs Editor

“Mudding” probably is a fun sport, Paula Smith, Williamsburg, acknowledged.

But she doesn’t find much fun in the after-effects — the damage caused by people driving their trucks on minimum maintenance roads she and her husband use to access their farm property, and even damage to their property.

A group of people apparently went “mudding” — when people attempt to drive trucks through muddy roads or a pit full of mud — after rainstorms Thursday night on a minimum maintenance road, Haskell Road, near Georgia Road at Homewood, the Smiths and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department said.

The trucks created large ruts in Haskell Road and some people drove through a waterway on the Smiths’ farmland, they reported. The Smiths parked at the intersection of Haskell and Georgia roads and watched headlights and taillights drive on their property about a quarter mile away.

“They just tore that road up,” Paula Smith said.

They also watched vehicles leave as a sheriff’s deputy arrived, and talked to one of the participants who said seven trucks were stuck in the mud at one point, Smith said. She estimated between 30 and 40 people either were participating or watching the activity.

“By the time the second (deputy) got there, the bulk of people had gotten unstuck,” Smith said. “They were running out of there like rats from a sinking ship.”

Two trucks remained stuck in the mud Friday afternoon. One truck arrived later to pull the other out of the mud but also became stuck, its owner, who didn’t want to be identified, said.

Sheriff’s deputies identified some of the people four-wheeling in the area, Lt. Jeff Curry said.

Because of wet weather and muddy road conditions, the damage to the road and the Smith’s property could not be assessed immediately, Sheriff Craig Davis said.

The “mudders” may not realize the extent of damage caused by their activity, Davis said. Sometimes in such cases, he said, someone drives down the muddy road until it becomes too difficult to navigate, and the only way to get out is through private farmland.

“Most of the time, they don’t understand they’re causing an issue by tearing up the road so people can’t get down,” Davis said.

“Even with minimum-maintenance roads, the county is going to have to go through and smooth those roads out a little bit. A lot of those roads are used by farmers and it’s the only way to get in their fields.”

County crews typically have to fill the “pit,” or mud hole, created by mudders after an incident like the one on Haskell Road Thursday, Jim Haag, public works director for the county, said. It isn’t as costly as repairing other county roads, but does require time and materials, he said.

Haag said about five areas exist at which mudding seems to occur on a regular basis after heavy rains. The Haskell Road location is a new popular spot, he said.

Minimum-maintenance roads are popular for mudding because they have a dirt surface and typically don’t have a lot of houses or traffic, Haag said. The county has about 77 miles of minimum-maintenance roads, he said.

Smith said this wasn’t the first time people damaged that section of Haskell Road. She asked the county about a year ago to repair the road because she and her husband couldn’t get large farm equipment down the road to their property.

“I’m sure it’s fun and I’m sure they are having a good time,” Smith said. “The problem is, landowners and taxpayers are paying for what they’re destroying for sport.”

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Trucks, damage remain after ‘mudding’

By VICKIE MOSS, Herald Public Affairs Editor

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.