Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1921-01-05
PAST YEAR
PROSPEROUS
IN COUNTY
ROAD BUILDING AND IRRIGATION
PROJECTS MARK ACTIVITIES
DURING 192O-MORE EXTEN-
SIVE PROGRAM FOR COMING
YEAR.

DtUiNu iUAo-.hOAth hst
sIVE PROGRAM FOR COMING
YEAR.
The public being interested in what
is being done in administering the
afafirs of the county, and as 1t Is diff
flcult for the people in general to
have any definite information, the
county court and commissioners are
giving out the following for the in
formation of all interested, the same
being based on the records and facts
as shown thereby, or as vouched for
by them.
The tax levy as made and collected
for year 1920 was 20 mills for the
county and state combined. Out OF
the amount raised by the levy the
total as shown by the tax rolls being
S55O,500.00 for the state and county
tax, there was remitted to the State
OF Oregon l29,000.00 as state taxes.
Within the amount remitted to the
state there was one mill for market
road tax which amounted to s27,-
$3.50. whereupon market road
fund was based with the following
result:
Produced by county l mill
levy ............' 'sE boEO'o'
Produced by State levy as
above and thereafter
equalized on ratios as to
whole state ......... 2s,2OS.55
Surplus from MultnOmah
County proportional
part as provided in the
law ............' ll,oiu'oE
Total Market Road Money
for 1920 ........-...$o $oo,o4o.ZO
The expenditure of the Market road
money was distributed over three
projects, to-wit Jacksonyllle-Ruch
road. in changing the grade over the
Jacksonville hall and making a maxi
mum grade of 5 per cent, 100000;
Dead Indian road, reducing the grade
from about 20 per cent to maximum
of per cent, s10,00O.OO; Butte
Falls road from Reese Creek school
house toward Butte Falls, changing
the lines and gravelling, s2O,OOO.OO'
These projects will all be continued
in 1921. the new road over the jack
sonyllle hill will be open for travel
by the middle of July, 1921, the Dead
Indian road will be completed for
travel by next fall, while the Butte
Falls road will have to be continued
for several years in order to get the
road in shape for winter travel to
Buttee Falls.
Several of the road districts made
special road tax levies. which leVies
the county co-operated with on
5O-5O basis doing general road work
in the ristricts. The road districts
raised about 100000 by special
road tax levies.
The amount raised from various
sources for the general road fund dur
ing the year was as follows; Regn-
lar road levy, sG9,161.OO; received
on account of automobiles licenses
s15,SO0OO; received from forest
rentals, 100000, making a total OF
$92,961.OO. This amount has been
used on general road work, machin'
ery. bridges, rights of way, etc. The
county has had to participate in its
norton of the over head crossings
at Tolo and Ashland on the Pacific
highway. the former to the extent oil
s5804.00 and the latter $G72S.l2.
The county has been able to rent
several trucks from the state at
$4,000 per month. the county fur
nlshing the driver and other expense
in connection with operating the
trucks. The state has let the county
have the use of two 120 Holt tractors,
the county to pay $SO0.OO each for
them the first year and $1.OO per
year thereafter, these tractors being
government equipment and cannot
he sold outright, and another has
been partly promised at the same
rate.
With the two tractors and the ma
chinery which is used in connection
with them the county during the past
wear scarified, regarded and rolled
10 miles Of improved roads and in
addition thereto have graded up new
grades covering Is miles. BY the
use of the trucks and rock crushers
there have been 25 miles of surfac-
ing put on the roads during the sea-
son. all of the material being graded
so as not to put large rocks or boul-
ders in the roads. The larger por-
tion of the old wooden culverts and
bridges have required repairs on ac-
count Of the heavy traffic now caused
by use Of trucks, as material has been
very high no new structures have
been put in unless quite necessary.
The county has almost entirely put
in new work so that the work will
be permanent, that is, If the work is
only grading it is on a grade that
will be used in the future even If the
road should be paved. so any gravel
or crushed rock placed thereon will
help for a road base and not have
to be dug up and hauled out at a
later date. when the time comes for