Criminal charges can be filed on those who damage roads in Washington County, including level B roads. According to the Washington County Communications Office, at about noon Sunday three vehicles were called into dispatch for tearing up a mud road near Riverside. One vehicle was stuck. A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy responded and advised the driver to leave the vehicle parked there and nobody should be driving it or charges could be filed. The subjects were picked up. About two hours later, another vehicle went into the ditch due to a vehicle being in the roadway on the level B part of 135th Street. The county engineer was advised of those driving on the level B road.

In February, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance increasing the penalty for those who damage county roads. The ordinance reads, “Any person who injures, mars, or damages any County road that requires repairs in excess of $250 by the Washington County Secondary Roads Department shall, for every offense, be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.” The offense is punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail or a fine up to $625, and the offender shall be liable for restitution for repair of the road.