Judge: County will protect roads and right of ways

Commissioners discussed the origin of Jack County roads during Monday’s regular meeting.

Precinct 2 Commissioner James Brock said he had a new homeowner contact him wondering where his property line was. He said he had a surveyor come out and look at the property and tell him and say his property line goes right in the middle of Strawhorn Road.

County Judge Mitchell Davenport said for many years, county maps and their roads were not indexed well and it was hard to find the origin of county roads. In the olden days, people were just glad to have a road designated a county road and were willing to pay for it via hard labor to build their road or pay for it, Davenport said.

Legislation was passed in 2004 or 2006, Davenport said, with each county having a list of county roads in a map book. If it wasn’t listed in the book, it wasn’t a county road, whether it used to be or not, Davenport said.

In some cases where that happens the portion of the property that is part of a county road can be exempt from taxation. Davenport sent a letter to the new property owner saying the county will take any necessary steps to protect roads and right of ways.

To read the complete article, see the July 15 edition of the Herald-Gazette.