It has been more than 10 years since the county has taken over a private road, Berkshire said, and the county doesn't have the money to maintain any new roads. That can create headaches for law-enforcement and rescue personnel trying to get to calls. Some temporary state help is on the way, Berkshire said. Gov. Gary Johnson declared an emergency in Torrance County and three other counties last week, which freed up money for the county to hire private contractors to clear public roads. But the emergency declaration still doesn't help clear private roads like Stevenson's.
Stressful times can bring out the worst in people.
They can also bring out the best. When a big winter storm hit the Estancia Valley and East Mountains, followed by high winds that created snow drifts, phone calls started pouring in to area governments. Torrance County Manager Babette Berkshire said the county got more than 900 calls since the storm hit Jan. 27. Some of the callers were a bit upset. Berkshire said county crews worked hard to clear roads, and the negative callers took away from the good work they did.