County officials stressed cooperation and communication betweenutilities and road construction crews Monday as work is set tobegin on three access loops around the new Industrial Park Roadoverpass.

During Monday’s supervisors’ meeting, a pre-constructionconference with electricity, water, natural gas and other utilityservice providers was held prior to Dickerson and Bowen startingthe approximately $650,000 project.

With lines that may have to be moved and other needs, State AidRoad Engineer Marty Hilton said there a “a lot of potential forinconvenience.”

“The biggest thing is to encourage everybody to work together,”Hilton said.

District 3 Supervisor Nolan Earl Williamson agreed.

“Cooperation can go a long way,” he said.

The work, which totals a little over a mile of new paving,includes an access road linking North First Street with Industrialnear the Keystone-Seneca ball fields, another using South CenterStreet to link Industrial with Railroad Street, and some additionalwork on Boyce Drive.

“To minimize public complaints, we’re going to have to be realcareful around Center Street and that area to make sure people canget out,” said Carl Ray Furr, county engineer,

Furr said a work order to proceed could be issued Monday afterthe county received state approval of the road plans. The estimatedcompletion date for the project is June 2001.

District 2 Supervisor Bobby J. Watts, in whose district the workis being done, pledged his support for the project.

“I’ll assist in any way they need it,” Watts said. “We’re gladto get it.”

Road officials said more preliminary work would be needed aroundthe Center Street area. Therefore, road work would be concentratedin other areas first.

“Everything, basically, is going to be done east of the railroadfirst,” Hilton said.

When the new overpass was built, it forced some Brignallresidents, some North First industries and others to use alternateroutes get to Industrial Park Road. The access loop work isexpected to address those concerns.

Later in the meeting, supervisors went into executive sessionfor personnel matters related to disciplinary actions in thesheriff’s department and the District 4 road crew.

After returning from the closed meeting, District 4 Supervisorand board president W.D. “Doug” Moak said Sheriff Lynn Boyte hadinformed the board a department employee had been placed on leavewithout pay pending an investigation of an alleged incident. Citingan ongoing investigation, the sheriff did not discuss the nature ofthe allegations other than to say the employee was off-duty at thetime.

“It is being thoroughly investigated by an outside agency,”Boyte said, citing department policy.

Also, Moak said he informed other board members that an employeein his road crew had been terminated over misconduct related toimproper use of a county vehicle. The supervisor did not elaboratefurther.

In other matters Monday, supervisors took under advisement arequest from County Agent Perry Brumfield to purchase a $700overhead projector. He said the equipment helps with many of thecooperative extension service’s educational programs.

Brumfield said a delay in service employees raises until Julywould save about $1,800, and the county could use some of thatmoney for the projector. Already operating under a deficit budget,supervisors wanted to review budget totals before acting on therequest.