Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1923-07-26
ROAD WORK IN WATAUCA
COUNTY

Feeilng that the public should be
kept informed about the road work
OF the county we take this method to
set out some of our aims.
This year we will have about S3,-
10000 for upkeep wrok in the coun-
ty. This sum being realized from
the advalorem tax of or cents on
each $4,000 of assessment. This is,
as you will at once realize, entirely
inadequate to maintain the public
roads of Watauga County one year
even if we do just as little as possi-
Bile. If some are inclined to think
that we are not doing enough on any
certain section of road just remember
above figures.
Next year we will be in better
shape so far as funds are concerned.
The present road law will allow a
rate of Is cents per $4,000 of, as
sessment. Assuming that the assess
ment this year is approximately what
it was last year the road tax will
amount to from ten to twelve thou
sand dollars.
This maintenance money will be
used in all townships accordin to the
taxes paid by each township, taking
into consideration also the mileage of
roads kept up by the State Highway
Commission in. the several townships.
Some townships have several miles of
road that is maintained by the State,
while others have none.
A provision in the law passed by
the last session of the General As
sembly provides that where any town.
ship did not receive its proportionate
part of the money derived from the
sale of the first S200,000.OO of bonds
that more bonds must be issued to
equalize those townships. {By the
way, that law has teeth in it, for a
penalty is attached thereto if the
County Commissioners failed to is
sue said bonds) Persuant to that
law finding that some townships had
not received their part of the money
from the first bonds the County Com
missioners issued S5o,"0G.0O more
bonds. This money Will soon be
available.
It's tremendous task to keep up
the roads of the County ever if We
were amply supplied with the where
with; not being overburdened witt
ready cash it is more difficult AS We
go about over the County we often
hear the remark that there i, no
Free Labor" on the roads now
Free Labor" has not been abolished
but Forced Labor" has. No man is
now forced by the iron hand of the
law to do service on the roads, but
every man in the Country is hereby
invited to do free labor on the road
by his door. When you see danger
Gus hole in bridge near~your home
or large rock in the road won't you
remedy that condition? 1t will only
cost you few moments of your time
while possibly it would cost the Coun-
ty' dollars to do the same work; for
often we would have to go miles to
get to the point. of needed repairs,
My primary object in writing this ar
ticle is to ask the whole-hearted CO.
operation of the entire citizenship Of
the County in this work. We want
to see every citizen from Wilkes to
Tennessee and from Ashe to Avery
interested in ROADS. What can we
do without your cooperation? It's
not so much the dollars and cents
you get out of this work, but the cor
dition the roads are kept in. Fellow
citizens if it appears to you that we
are not paying enough per day for
work remember our motto is "The
most good roads for our dollar.
Friends, when we build new fences
along any public road remember to
leave at least 25 feet between the
fences otherwise they will soon have
to be torn down. Thre is much old
fencing in the County that will short
ly be torn down moved back to give
more room. Many of the roads are
so narrow that they should be called
trails instead of roads. We appeal to
the citizenship of the County to
remedy this condition.
Yours to serve Watauga County
to the best of my ability,
N. M. GREEE,
County Road Supervisor.