A Sunflower Road resident and homeowner expressed that she is being bounced around when it comes to addressing the issue of potholes on her road.
On Monday, Amelia Dawson appeared before the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors, for the second time, to express her disappointment at the way her request for assistance is being handled.
Her previous assertion to the county lawmakers was that the condition of her road is deplorable and that potholes caused damage to a tire and rim on a car that she and her husband bought for their son.
She was reportedly told that the required procedure was for her to file a claim with the county’s insurance provider and they would investigate and make a decision.
Dawson told the county lawmakers that she did file and since then she was told by the insurance carrier that her claim was denied and allegedly because a county official, identified as road manager T.J. Fairley, said he did not see the road in bad shape. “But, he didn’t see it because he didn’t go out there,” Dawson claimed.
She maintains that Fairley was telling the truth in part about not seeing the poor condition of the road, but that was only because he sent one of his workers out to grade the road before he saw it. She insisted that his response, “I didn’t see it,” and not, “I didn’t go out there and see it,” is what caused her claim to be rejected. She asked the lawmakers why they would even tell her to go through the process of filing a claim, if they knew in advance that they were just going to deny it. Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams asserted that it was not up to them, but up to the insurance company.
He added that if she filed a claim and the insurance company denied it and she did not like it, she could sue the county. “It’s my job to defend Sunflower County, if you want money from us, you’ll have to sue us,” McWilliams said.
McWilliams alluded to Dawson’s complaint being about money. He said that if the county were to provide restitution to every resident who complained about a pothole the county would not have enough money to pay it.
However, Dawson refuted that her protest was only about money and stressed that it was about getting the road fixed. She also added that this is not the only vehicle that she's had to have repaired. “I even had one totaled, but did I come to y’all and ask y’all for any money? No, I didn’t ask for anything, but I'm tired,” she said.
She told McWilliams that she should not have to take off work to come in to make them aware of the road conditions. “I’m a taxpayer. Y’all have people that are paid to watch these roads, why do I have to come up here and complain?” she said, “I'm not trying to be ugly, but I'm frustrated.”
With regard to traversing the poorly conditioned county roads, Dawson said, “We’ve been doing this for ten years, and I have messed up a lot of vehicles and I have not asked for any money back, but the roads are getting worse and worse.”
Dawson said although her road has never been pristine, it has been in better shape. “They used to not be this way. When I moved out to this house that road was paved, it wasn’t in the best condition, but it was paved. Now, I don’t have a road,” she said.
Dawson alluded to other residents in other areas having good roads, but not her. She said they are now planning to sell the car “because the road is so bad” but plan to get the vehicle repaired first.
She provided the lawmakers with photographic proof of her claims about the road and shared different scenarios that her family has undergone just trying to get to and from work and school including having her husband come back to drive her to work because his vehicle has 4-wheel-drive.
She mentioned having to call the sheriff out on occasion when they were stuck or had run off the road because of the pitiful state of the road. Dawson asked what was being done with the taxes she pays.
Dawson said her garbage pickup service is also hindered by the road because at times the truck can’t get to her house but she still has to pay and was told no credit would be issued. Dawson said she's not expecting the road to be perfect, but at least drivable.
And although she wouldn’t call him by name, Dawson said she has called her county supervisor so much that he has stopped taking her calls, so she now has to call from a different number to get him. “When it gets to the point where you got somebody that won't even take your phone calls and they are getting paid by the county from my taxes, yeah, I got a problem. I have a big problem, this is ridiculous,” Dawson said.
After the tone of the exchanges began to elevate, President Glenn Donald eventually said they would have Fairley re-address the questions on the insurance provider’s questionnaire and return the matter to the insurance company for another ruling.
He told Dawson to also expect a follow-up conversation from County Administrator Gloria McIntosh. “We’re going to do what we can to try and make it right,” he said.
Dawson stressed that ultimately she just wants her road to be safe for her children and others to travel.
