By By NORMA LERNER / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – A special meeting of the Cass County Road Commission was called on Thursday to discuss budget constraints.
Chairman Cliff Poehlman called the meeting after he received phone calls about where the road commission is going and what it will be doing.
"It was a clearing of the air what I was told."
A discussion was held on the Nov. 21 snowstorm and the condition of the roads.
Poehlman said he heard that trucks and graders were shut down. He talked to Superintendent Rick Janssen and got a different story. He said nine employees had previously scheduled a vacation day. He put every man out he had. There was a misunderstanding how things all came about, plus a few other things, Poehlman said.
Vice Chairman Leroy Krempec said Redfield, Calvin Center and other roads in the Edwardsburg area were like a skateboard. He said he received calls from constituents about the roads and told people about the snow and ice policy without knowing nine workers were out.
Poehlman said snow plows were out Friday. Poehlman said Janssen called every employee he had available.