County to look at ATV laws

Dalton Walker

Willis Hanna is uneasy each time he drives out of his driveway onto 273rd Street in rural Harrisburg.

Most days, highway traffic is sparse. But it's what he can't see that bothers him.

All-terrain vehicles jump his driveway from ditch to ditch, most times at blazing speed, he said. A block of trees hug his driveway near the ditch, making it tough to see any movement.

Hanna has had enough.

He recently asked Lincoln County Commissioners to revisit its ordinance involving all-terrain vehicles, more commonly known as four-wheelers.

"There has been four incidents of near misses on that road," he said. "I'm asking the county to bite the bullet and get this thing stopped before someone gets hit and killed."

The county does not have an ordinance directly related to who drives four-wheelers on county property, said Mike Nadolski, the county's chief civil deputy state's attorney.

However, the county does have the authority to prohibit four-wheelers with the exception of agriculture and utility use, Nadolski said. The county must hold a public hearing before any action is taken.

Hanna argued the drivers of the four-wheelers hopping his ditch are not farmers or utility workers.

"Are we going to gain anything by doing this ordinance?" Commissioner Dennis Weeldreyer said. "What will make the difference? Have cops sit out there (all day)?"

Weeldreyer did not say whether he was for or against the ordinance.

Commissioner Jim Schmidt said he spoke with Sheriff Dennis Johnson after hearing complaints.

"I talked to Denny," he said. "They can't enforce it without actually catching somebody.

"Somewhere down the line we'll find that happy medium."

Commissioners asked Nadolski to create an ordinance draft to discuss.

Source: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081011/NEWS/810110301/1001

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