RESIDENT DONATES EASEMENT FOR ROADWORK

BENTON -- The Scott County Commission got their Christmas gift a month early.

A county resident is giving the county part of his land so a road near New Hamburg can be moved.

The intersection where county road 236 intersects with Route A is a dangerous one, said Scott County Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner. So the county wants to move the road over an eighth of a mile.

And Norbert Kluesner provided just the solution the county needed. He is donating a portion of his land to the county as an easement to the new road.

But it will take about two months before the project can be approved by the Missouri Highway Department, Kielhofner said.

Regardless of the timetable, Scott County Road and Bridge Department Director Terry Herndon hopes to map and survey the easement within the next week.

In other business Tuesday, the commission reappointed Hence Winchester of Sikeston to the board of directors of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. Winchester currently serves as chairman of the board.