A few weeks after granite truck drivers were put on notice by the Elberton Granite Association, Oglethorpe County resident Karen Isenhower asked the Board of Commissioners to take further action at its monthly meeting Monday night.
Isenhower, who has lived on Allgood Road since January, said she thought her new home would be peaceful, especially since it had been empty for 35 years.
“I understand this is what they are used to,” she said. “But now that I bought the place, they need to respect that I am the property owner, and I live there. I was really nice and went out there and asked them to please slow down — and they sped up.”
Isenhower said she has taken several videos at various times of day as the dust flies into her yard from the passing trucks. She also said there have been multiple incidents of truck mirrors breaking and pieces flying into her yard.
Now, she’s concerned not only for her own safety, but also for her housemate, Don Miraonov, as they both are starting to have breathing problems.
Isenhower said she spoke with Bill Daughtry of Savannah Gray Quarry, who said he spoke to his drivers. A Savannah Gray Quarry truck flipped over on Veribest Road on Sept. 11.
Chairman Jay Paul said the state’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division has been in the county for a few weeks and is stopping trucks.
“As I have said before, I have not looked forward to inviting (MCCD) to the county, but the granite industry has got to help me a little bit,” Paul said. “All they have to do is their part of slowing down and lighter loads, and I think that'll go a long way to fixing the problem.”
This new complaint is in addition to other incidents involving granite trucks in the past six months.
- April 4: Granite slabs fell off the back of a truck, leading to a car running over them.
- July 24: A 50,000-pound granite block fell off a truck, tipping over the truck and striking an unattended car parked on the shoulder.
- Sept. 11: A quarry truck narrowly avoided hitting a school bus after the bus driver maneuvered the vehicle out of the way
- Oct. 5: A 62,000-pound granite block was thrown off a truck over the side of the road and into a ditch.
In other business, the board:
- Approved Sweet Olive Farm Animal Rescue’s permit application for using county roads for a bike ride from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Howard Sanders opposing. Sanders mentioned a safety concern, as a bike ride in the county in the past ended in the death of a cyclist. “Until you have scraped a body off the pavement, you do not understand the gravity of road safety,” said Sanders, who was the Oglethorpe County coroner.
- Heard from John Burt, of Goose Pond Road, during public comments about complaints on the Timberland Solar Farm's effects on his property. Code Compliance Officer Jeff Sharpe said the county had hired an engineer to evaluate the solar farm’s safety and compliance, which will take three months to complete. The solar farm moratorium ended in September and new rules were added then.
- Unanimously approved Hartwell Mayfield’s request for a variance to allow additional subdivisions on Washington Road.
- Unanimously approved a rezone for Tax Parcels 073 014, 073 012 and 073 012A on Buddy Faust Road.
- Heard that Commissioner Tracy Norman completed the county operations and management specialty track with the Lifelong Learning Academy for the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.