Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sherry Gandy came before the Chilton County Commission during its meeting on Jan. 28 to discuss their claim for personal damage to their motor home from tree limbs hanging down low.

The tree limbs in question were hanging over a portion of County Road 18 West in Clanton.

According to Gandy, when she and her husband were driving down the road the low-hanging branches hit the roof of the motor home and damaged it.

The incident occurred in September and cost $15,000 to repair. The couple had insurance.

“We just want what we paid out of pocket,” Gandy said.

Commission Chairman Joseph Parnell advised her to contact county attorney Roger Bates to start the process of going through the proper channels.

County Engineer Tony Wearren was in attendance and informed the Commission that the county does not have a right-of-way on the road in question.

In that case, the tree would then belong to the landowner of whose property it is on.

The issue will be looked into from all sides, and any action would be taken in the future.

In other news from the meeting:

• Wearren updated the Commission that construction on County Roads 28 and 32 is moving along. The roads have been leveled and widened, and the next step will be to apply the asphalt.
• The Commission accepted the resignation of Jerome Johnson as operator with the road department effective Jan. 31.
• Wearren received permission to advertise and hire a truck driver with the road department.
• Chris Blaisdell was reclassified from operator to foreman with the road department.
• A 2010 John Deere 6430 and side cutter and 2008 Massey Ferguson 5465 and side cutter were declared surplus and will be sold in a March auction.
• Wearren was approved to begin taking bids for a new tractor with built-in side cutter to replace the two machines declared surplus. The estimated cost is $125,000, which he said was in the road department’s budget. Wearren is confident the new tractor will be able to do the work of the two prior side cutters.
• Robby Smitherman and Justin Smitherman were reclassified as both full-time corrections officers with the Sheriff’s Office.
• Terry Hinton and Tiffanee Edwards with the Commission Office were approved to receive a 3% pay increase effective Feb. 1.
• The Commission approved the minutes from the Jan. 14 meeting.
• The Commission approved to pay its bills.