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TOP PHOTO: Elaine Dinicola addressed commissioners during their workshop on Monday evening regarding an issue on Gillis Lane.
By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – An issue with a gate blocking a county road was brought before commissioners on Monday evening at the county commission workshop.
Campbell County property owner Elaine Dinicola spoke to commissioners about an issue on Gillis Lane regarding her neighbor putting up a gate across the road.
The issue first arose in March of this year. Dinicola had previously gone to the County Planning Commission and the County Commission, who after checking the county road maps, confirmed the road was a county road. The commission then last month voted to send letters out to all property owners and neighbors in the area ratifying that Gillis Lane is a county road.
Dinicola said “the letter had not seemed to matter and a gate had been put in place.”
“There is a gate blocking Gillis Lane; blocking my property and blocking the public road, even though you guys ratified Gillis Lane as a public road. I’m here to request assistance in remedying the situation, because I don’t want to be in any conflict with any neighbor,” said Dinicola.
Commissioner Rusty Orick spoke up, saying the road had been ratified and was in place as a county road from the 1990s.
“What is our recourse? Since I’ve been here, we haven’t had a county road blocked or gated? We need to take some kind of action. I know Joe (County Attorney Joe Coker) is out of town; but what is our recourse of action,” Orick asked.
Commissioners asked Sheriff Wayne Barton if he would deliver the letter to the neighbor stating the road was a county road.
Barton responded and said, “something of this magnitude should be sent by certified letter to the gentleman.”
“We can’t remove a gate without an order from a court. If Mr. Dilbeck wants it removed, then that is up to him. We will be glad to be there to maintain peace and safety and will even help him load the gate in the back of his truck,” Barton said.
“We need to get a hold of Joe (County Attorney Joe Coker) and get a hold of road superintendent Ron Dilbeck,” Orick said to his fellow commissioners.
“At the end of the day, it’s the road superintendent’s decision. We are getting guidance from our attorney,” said commission chair Johnny Bruce.
Dinicola thanked commissioners for “their help and their patience” with the situation. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 06/11/2024-6AM)
If a business or homeowner parked their car or truck across a county road, thus blocking it, adjacent to their property would y’all have to delay action while you involve the county attorney and road super?
Meanwhile while everyone is pointing the responsibility finger, this lady is denied access to her property!
There is something much more scary that no one is talking about. This guy has owned this property for a month and has closed a public paved road that accesses the water tower for all the houses on that hill. I feel bad that this lady cant get to her property, but why is no one concerned that this guy now controls the water tower? What is he doing that he has to close a public paved road and now can do anything he wants (unsupervised) to the water tower?
I attended the meeting last month when the gate was not up and the sheriff specifically said he would remove a gate if one went up. They write a letter warning people to not close the road, then this month the same sheriff doesn’t want to remove a gate on the same public road? Wouldn’t someone go to jail for something like this anywhere else? This is terrifying. My parents live in this area and this has been a road since I was a child. What does he want to do to the peoples water?