By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Years ago, residents of Willie Adams Road wanted the name changed because they thought “Willie” sounded too black, said current resident Arnie Geiger.

But that was years ago, and times have changed, Geiger told county commissioners last week. All the current residents want the name changed back to Willie Adams Road, he said, to properly honor the farmer and well-known community member for whom it is named.

Commissioners expressed willingness to change the road's name, but tabled the matter to get more information. The road, which runs of Farr Road, may be partly in Tyrone, in which case the residents would have to petition the Town Council as well as the commission to get the name changed.

The panel will take the matter up again during its July 22 meeting, after checking out jurisdictional questions.

In other business, commissioners voted unanimously last week to buy a road striping machine so stripes can be returned to county roads quickly after repaving.

The state Department of Transportation repaves numerous roads in Fayette, but it's often months before the state crews return to paint new stripes, according to public works director Lee Hearn.

“This is a very good step on the county's part,” said Commissioner Linda Wells. After roads are repaved, she said, “You get a rainy night and you have no idea where you are on that road.”

TranSafe (Transportation Safety Products) Inc. was awarded the bid for the machine at a cost of $29.923. According to a memo from Hearn, the county paid contractors $37,059.55 last year to stripe county roads.