Fix our Darrell Hall Road

Dear Editor,

Attached is our position paper regarding the longstanding disrepair and neglect of our Grimes County Darrell Hall (DH) neighborhood roadways.

It is our position that DH roads should be condemned by the county, as a “public nuisance” (health and safety), and that the county should, in turn, take DH and Company to court to recover the cost of bringing his derelict roads up to county standards.

We can rely on the Grimes County Road and Bridge Department to make the necessary repairs and improvements on our local roads and to plan to mitigate future problems in their mid-to-long term strategic plans. However, concerning our Darrell Hall neighborhoods, we can only look to further deterioration and neglect.

There are no plans in place to implement any long-term solutions. The county seems content to allow us to sink into the mire or be trapped in our homes (or not able to return home) due to failing and failed roadways.

Many county residents passively support the county’s intransigence, because they do not live in DH neighborhoods, and feel no compassion for their neighbors, but they will complain bitterly if their own roads should come into disrepair.

We residents of DH neighborhoods, too, must share responsibility, as we failed to support the single Commissioner’s Court candidate, in the last election, who promised to help improve our situation and champion our cause at the county and state level.

We also squabble among ourselves about the merits of forming neighborhood homeowner’s associations. And in Shannon Estates, too few neighbors will even contribute to a fund to make necessary roadway repairs on our own.

If we will not help ourselves, and if the county and our fellow county residents care not for our plight, and county leadership seems to care “not one whit”, what is left for us to do?

We need to continue pressing our cause with our elected county representatives on the Grimes County Commissioner’s Court and pay particular attention to Commissioner Mallett and County Judge, Joe Fauth.

We need to stick together, not bickering, back-biting, or undermining our mutual efforts. If your neighborhood supports a collective effort, join it, contribute a little money, and then work toward the goal, because we will accomplish little without a united stand. (Ben Franklin— “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately”).

We need to watch out for each other (we are actually pretty good at this, already). But, we need to make a concerted effort to do it diligently and consistently, not just on our street, but in our neighborhoods, and the larger community.

For more information and to offer your feedback, please go to our Facebook page,www.facebook.com/ FixOurDarrellHallRoad.

Dave Woodruff, Bedias