By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A road rock fight between county commissioners and a Lincolnville man shows no sign of coming to a truce.

Deputies went Friday to Lincolnville feedlot owner Mike Beneke’s house looking for him, but Beneke wasn’t home.

“While they were looking for me, I was several miles away having the grader worked on,” Beneke said. “Then we had to test it out.”

Beneke said he was told deputies planned to arrest him and impound his grader. He plans to keep that from happening.

“My motor grader is not at my house, so they can’t impound it,” he said.

The issue appears to have been discussed in a closed-door session Monday. The session, which included county counsel Brad Jantz, was called to discuss pending litigation.

After the session, commissioner Randy Dallke had blunt words about county residents taking road work into their own hands.

“I don’t think it’s fair when we’re trying to do a project, we cannot get things accomplished,” Dallke said.

Beneke graded rocks off roads adjoining his property earlier this month after the hard, pointed rocks flattened tires on his truck and a trailer.

Road and bridge employees spread the rocks back on the roads.

Under a resolution passed a week ago, county residents need permission to work on county roads. If permission is denied, any work done will be considered trespassing and the county could “pursue any and all civil or criminal remedies.”

“Mike means well, but if he thinks he’s going to continue to overrun us, we’re not here to be overrun,” Dallke said.