Gravel Bypass Program Seen as Emergency Measure

The Gravel Bypass Program, which affects roads that are used as detour roads for Safe and Sound Bridge Projects, is being touted as an emergency measure by the Worth County Commission, which said that it was a matter of allowing people to get around during the construction period. A lot of road usage will depend on where motorists are going; for instance, there might be different ways to bypass Route C depending on where one was going. Commissioner Ted Findley asked about mud roads; Gabbert said that they would be included. "It's a matter of people being able to get around," he said. Commissioner Rob Ruckman added that Route B southwest of Sheridan was so bad that people would rather use dirt roads to get around.

The Emergency Bypass Program allows the County to put up a 100% match for gravel on roads bypassing construction on Safe and Sound Bridges. Ruckman said that deciding which roads would be eligible would be done on a case by case basis and that it won't break the county budget because it was a small percentage of the roads. He said that the DOT was doing this as cheaply as possible and forgot about the need to account for gravel roads that would be used while roads were closed for construction.

Bob Holthaus of the Missouri Association of Counties, which insures the county in Workers' Comp, gave a presentation to the county regarding workplace safety. He said that it was important for the county to investigate injury situations immediately and record what happened as soon as possible. That way, it can be documented so that people will not cheat in order to get greater payouts than they are entitled to and so that they can determine whether the county is at fault or not. He said that it was important for workers to wear safety devices when necessary and that it was important for the county to do background checks on people to screen out people with unsafe work pattens.

The county can legally medically screen people before hiring them to determine if they are capable of doing the work and Holthaus recommended that they have written safety policies and have people sign off on them. Furthermore, if there is a claim and a doctor says a worker can only lift 40 pounds, the county can terminate an employee for lifting more than 40 pounds since the government can view that as workers' comp fraud. Furthermore, he said it was important that the county not file claims on non-county employees.

In addition to accidents, there are also repetitive motion situations such as carpal tunnel syndrome and other such things; in that event, a doctor would determine the amount of compensation that should be awarded. He said all accidents should be documented and reported within 24 hours. One reason is to determine if drugs or alcohol are involved or if safety devices are being used. If there are no safety devices used and an accident happens or drugs or alcohol are involved, then a person can lose some or all of the benefits they would have been entitled to claim under Workers' Comp otherwise. The county does drug testing for prospective employees before hiring.

Various situations were discussed, including falls and lifting accidents. Holthaus said it was important to do regular walk-throughs to identify unsafe situations. Another consideration was that if they fall, what do they fall into? For instance, there are situations in which fall protection was necessary. When going up in bucket trucks, what happens if someone is electrocuted and they need to get them out of the truck immediately? In these instances, Holthaus said that it was always better to have a plan ahead of time.

Given the stair situation at the Courthouse, Holthaus said that had to be taken into account. It is common advice to use the stairs and not the elevator. But Holthaus said that it was actually better to use the elevator when carrying objects upstairs because of the potential for falls. If someone must use the stairs, then he said it was important that they be well-lit and that people use the railings.

Holthaus, who worked for industry, said that his company had written rules that new employees signed off on and that current employees reviewed and signed off on regularly. He said that safety violations were written up and penalties went up to and included termination on the spot if the violation was serious enough that it put other people in jeopardy. He said that they had no problems with the unions or workers going postal on them because they knew exactly why they were being terminated.

Another thing that could help is a good exercise program as well as training on how to fall. People should pull their elbows in and roll to the side so that their bottoms and thighs absorb the worst impact. In conclusion, he said that 98% of all accidents were preventable and that the rest could be mitigated with proper protection, which he said was uncomfortable but worth it.

Commissioner Dennis Gabbert reported that Steve Combs got the wiring done on the generator and that they next needed to fix the flat tires on it. The generator started up fine.

Regarding landscaping, the county will take out three trees this year including two of the Chinese Elms.

Commissioner Rob Ruckman said that at some point, the county needed to sit down and dig up and review all of the agreements that they have with neighboring entities regarding the maintenance of county line roads. He said that the Missouri/Taylor Bridge cost the county a lot of money to fix and that he would like for the county to have such agreements on hand in case of future situations like that.

Equipment needs were discussed. Richard Supinger said that he had a huff basket that was 1-1 1/2 yards long that he could sell; Jim Fletchall will take a look at it.

Economic Developer Charity Austin reported that the Solid Waste Grant was due on the 25th and that the county had the option of partnering with the City of Grant City on either a wood chipper or recycling. Commissioners decided that they wanted to go for the recycling option. In the past, both the county and city tried recycling unsuccessfully. The city applied for a program only to find out that they would have to haul their recyclables to Cameron. The county has also tried it in the past, only to find that nobody was willing to haul it for them. But Commissioners wanted to try it again, saying that it would benefit everyone. Austin said that she would see what Northwest Missouri State would be willing to do regarding recycling; they currently take paper and other recyclables. Gabbert said that it was a matter of pursuing the most doable option for the county.