CHARLESTON -- Mississippi County's county road and bridge department is up to operating four motor graders from three and may be up to five once a new employee is done with some mowing, according to Jim Blumenberg, presiding county commissioner.
One of the graders will soon be pulled from road work to mix asphalt, however, he said during Thursday's regular County Commission meeting.
Blumenberg said unless roads are a mail route, a bus route, are heavily traveled or lead to a residence, county crews need to stay off of them with the graders.
"We don't have the money or the time to address those roads," he said.
County officials also need to come up with a priority list for blacktopping based on use, Blumenberg said, as "we don't have near enough money."
"We've got some asphalt roads that need to be addressed," he said.
Commissioner Homer Oliver said it is also time to spray thistles.
In other business Thursday:
* Claudia Arington, executive director of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, and Silvey Barker of the Mississippi County Tourism Council advised commissioners of activities including establishing a Web site, www.visitmscomo.com, and producing a full-color brochure.
The projects were funded by allocations from the Mississippi County Commission to promote economic development in the county through tourism.
The Dogwood-Azalea Festival in Charleston will be April 19-22 this year, commissioners noted.
* Don Laughlin of rural Bertrand said he has found a beaver dam in a culvert that is impeding drainage.
Laughlin said he was surprised to find beavers had built a dam inside the culvert.
"They do it all the time," Oliver said.
Blumenberg advised the county often removes beaver dams in culverts by pulling a tire through them.
Oliver said they need to get the beaver trapper hired by the county to remove the beavers first, however.
"It'll probably be ineffective until you get the beavers out of there," Oliver said.
Laughlin said he was going to work on removing the dam but commissioners advised they prefer the county do so.
"We'll get those dams tore down," Oliver said.