The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-15
GRAND JURY KICKS
CALLS ATTENTION TO DEF'ECTIvE
DRAINAGE OF MINIS SWAMP.
PROMPT ATTENTION NEEDED.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS URGED TO
HAVE LATERALs CLEANED.

with POWER to Act-Need of Extern
sion of Gwinnett Street to TeIfair
Road to He Investigated by Com
mittee on Roads and Bridges-Bud-
get Committee Consists of Commits
sioners LathrOp, PauIsen and
| Moore.
The March meeting of the Board of
County Commissioners was held at the
Court House yesterday. The board re-
ceived and referred to the Committee on
| Drainage a communication from a COM
mittee of the present grand jury, calling
attention 20 the bad sanitary condition
of Minis swap.
The grand jury committee has sounded
a note of warning, to which the Commits
sioners Will doubtless give prompt heed,
should the conditions, as they are de-
scribed, be found to exist. The commu-
nication read at the meeting was ad-
dressed to Chairman ]. j. Dale and is as
! follows:
The committee on drainage, selected
! from the grand jury at the March term,
desires to call your attention to the
drainage of Minis swamp, into the Minis
swamp canal and Musgrove creek.
Taking as the starting point the cross
ing of GWinnett street by Musgrove creek
and traversing the bank to the intersec-
tion of the Minis swamp canal, we find
| the drainage about complete. From the
intersection of Musgrove creek, travers-
! ing the Minis swamp canal to the Ogee-
chee road on the northeast bank and then
down the southwest bank, is also we'll
| drained.
The first lateral ditch after leaving the
| Ogeechee road was traversed on foot and
| found to be in bad condition for good
| drainage. The second lateral ditch was
| also traversed with the Minis swamp
canal some one and one-half or two miles
| through the swamp This lateral ditch
| was found to be in very bad condition,
| choked with fallen brush and trees ana
underground, clearly indicating that no
| work had been done upon the ditch for
a number of years, and the natural con-
sequence being that after heavy rain
the whole swamp is covered with water
| some eighteen inches or two feet deep.
| 1t would seem that this work ought to
De done at once. No time ought to be lost
for the reason that the warm season will
| soon be upon us and the good that could
| be accomplished if the work was done
| would be entirely lost if longer DELAYED
Commissioners will at once put force
at work and clear this lateral ditch, from
its intersection with the Minis swamp
| canal, say one and one-half or two miles
| westward.
our purpose in writing this communi-
cation to you at this early date is in order
| to overcome any delay that would neccs-
| sarily follow if we were to wait until the
grand jury made it's final presentments
| TO the court, for this would not be done
| In all probability, before the first of
| June"
The communication is signed by James
X. Sheldon, chairman, and D. Y. Dancy,
| A. u. Guerard, John Derst and George
| w. Lamar The matter was referred.
on motion of Commissioner Vetsburg. to
the committee on drainage
The Commissioners had also before
| them petitions of various property own
| ers and others at interest for the extern
| sion of Gwinnett street 10 the Telfair
| road. The petitioners represent that the
heed Tor road traversing the section Of
| the county west and southwest of the
city is pressing and show that to accom-
plish this purpose Gwinnett street had adj
VantageS that pertain 20 no other high
way 1t Is already extended and paved
| as far west as Stiles avenue at the civ
Waterworks, and the petitioners say but
a small amount of time and money would
| way to the Telfair road and pave it with
| ebert or gravel
Ihere are but three tracts of land"
| says one of the petitions filed and read
intervening between the extension of
GWlnnett street to an intersection of the
Telfair road. There is already an open
| road to point beyond Stie avenue and
the old powder magazine, the road on the
north of Capt. Henry BUNS land which
may prove to be of sufficient width In
this event the right-of-way need only be
acquired through two tracts of land and
the undersigned, representing these two
tracts, respectfully tender to the county
the land necessary to build such a road:
the only condition being that the proper
bitches shall be constructed and main
tained in connection with said road as
will properly drain adjacent portions of
the tracts, as we'll as the road itself The
road shall be graded and surfaced with
Augusta gravel or such good material as
may seem best to the commissioners. The
natural drainage of the land shall not be
INSTRUCTED and such drain pipes as are
necessary shall be put under the road to
carry Off the water"
The petitions for the extension of
Gwinnett street were referred to the
Committee on Roads and Bridges with
instructions to investigate the necessity
of the desired improvement and report
back to the board.
The board received an offer from the
| Union Station Company to change the
| grade of the Ogeechee road, at the point
| where 1t will be crossed by the station
! company's projected tracks. The letter
| from President Mackall. of the COM
pany. called attention to the fact that
such a crossing, were it a grade cross
ing, would be dangerous. The offer was
to change the grade and run the road
above the tracks. The offer was virtual
| ly accepted the communication being re-
| ferred to the Committee on Roads and
| Bridges with power to act the only re-
striction upon this power being that the
change in grade shall be made, under
the direction of the committee to COM
| ply with its ideas as to safety.
The commissioners accepted for them
! selves and their Office force and for the
! county attorney, an invitation to attend
a barbecue. to be given by the people OF
| Pooler. The invitation said that the peo-
| pie of that thriving little place wanted
! an. opportunity to show the commission
| ers their efforts to improve the section of
the county in which Pooler is located
| were appreciated. The invitation was ac-
| cepted with thanks and Chairman Dale
was appointed committee TO make ar
| rangements with the Poolerites as to'l
| time.
Petitions from Or. A. 3. Simmons, Dr.