Chap. 201.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled ‘‘an act to au-
thorize the board of supervisors of the county of Carroll to let to contract
the roads of said county, and to levy a tax to keep the same in proper
repair,” as amended by an act approved February 29, 1894, and February 2,
1892, and acts amendatory thereof, respectively, January 22, 1898, as
amended by an act approved March 7, 1900.

Approved March 14, 1906.

1, Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, ‘That an act en-
titled “an act to authorize the board of supervisors of the county of
Carroll to let to contract the roads of said county, and to levy a tax t
keep the same in proper repair,” as amended by an act approved Feb-
ruary twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and acts amenda-
tory thereof, respectively, January twenty-second, eighteen hundred and
ninety-four, and February second, eighteen hundred and ninety-cight, a:
amended by an act approved March seventh, nineteen hundred. be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

$1. The board of supervisors for the said county shall, as soon as prac-
ticable after passage of this act, divide the roads in said county into
sections of not more than ten miles each, said road sections to be num-
bered and known as road sections number —————, in ——-——————_
magisterial district.

§2. It shall be the duty of the said board of supervisors for said county
to ‘annually, during the month of May, or as soon thereafter as practi-
cable, to appoint one road overseer for each section in said county, the
said overseer to reside on or contiguous to the section of which he is ap-
pointed overseer ; and, furthermore, to be a man of sound judgment, and
possess a practical knowledge of road making; and he must also be the
owner of land contiguous to said roads; said overseers to be appointed
for the period of one year, unless sooner removed in the manner herein-
after provided.

Said overseer shall qualify as district officers are required by law to
qualify, and each of them shail enter into an acknowledged bond before
the court, judge, or county clerk before whom he qualifies, with surety to
be approved by such court, judge, or clerk, in a penalty of at least three
hundred dollars, and larger when deemed necessary by such court, judge,
or clerk, and failure to qualify and give bond, as aforesaid, within sixty
days next after his appointment, shall vacate his office. Such bonds shall
he payable to the board of supervisors of the county and conditioned for
the faithful discharge of the duties of the respective overseers. Such
bonds mav be recovered on motion, after fifteen days’ notice in the circuit
court of the county of Carroll, the amount so recovered to go into and
become a part of, the road funds for said county. Any vacancy occur-
ring in the office of overseer may be filled by the said board of supervisors
of the said county at any time.

$3. It shall be the duty of each road overseer provided for by this act
to provide, superintend, and direct the repairs of keeping in order and
making of all county roads and bridges within his road section in such
manner, and under such regulations, restrictions, plans, specifications, and
estimates as may be prescribed by the board of supervisors for the said
county. It shall be his duty to hire all necessary hands (who shall re-
side convenient to said roads), wagons, teams, and implements as may be
necessary in working, repairing, making, and maintaining said roade and
bridges. The said overseer shall deliver to every person entitled to re-
ceive any amount on account of labor, teams, wagons, or other implements
used in working said roads, a statement of the amount due him, and he
shall furthermore render a statement in writing, under oath, for such
labor, teams, wagons, and other implements, and to whom due, at each
quarterly meeting of the board of supervisors, provided for under this act.
He shall furthermore make a report in writing, under oath, of the con-
dition of the public roads in his section, the amount of money or labor,
or both, expended, or performed on said roads and bridges, and in the
employment of laborers, or use of materials, and such other matters re-
lative thereto, as the board of supervisors shall suggest and require.

$4. The board of supervisors of the said county shall, from time to
time, prescribe and note upon the records of their proceedings, such plans,
specifications, restrictions, directions, and estimates‘of the cost of the
various road section as they shall deem best for the working, making, and
keeping in order and repairing the roads and bridges in their county, in-
cluding any special plans, specifications, or directions, that they may pre-
scribe for particular roads or bridges. They shall have full power and
control of all roads, property, cattle, horses, mules, plows and machinery
now belonging to the said county; and shall have full power and au-
thority to provide for the use of the same, either by the said overseers or
their special agents employed by them for that purpose, or they may sell
any or all of such road property now on hand, or as they may deem best.

§5. Every overseer provided for by this act, subject to the control,
specifications, directions, and estimates of the board of supervisors, as
hereinbefore provided, shall cause the roads in his section to be kept
cleared, smoothed of rocks and obstructions, of necessary width, well
drained, and otherwise in good order, and secure from falling of dead or
unsafe timber therein, and shall cause to be placed and kept at the fork
or crossing of every road, a sign-board, on which shall be stated, in plain
letters, the most noted place to which each road leads, and across every
stream, when it is necessary and practicable, a sufficient bench or bridge
or log for the accommodation of pedestrians.

§6. The overseer of any section may take from any convenient place or
lands so much wood, stone, gravel, or earth as may be necessary to be
used in constructing or repairing any road or bridge or causeway therein;
and may, for the purpose of draining the road, cause a ditch to be cut
through any lands adjoining the same: provided, such wood or other
articles be not taken from, and such ditch be not cut through, any yard
or garden without the consent of the owner.

§7. If the owner or tenant of any such lands shall think himself in-
jured thereby, a justice, upon application to him, shall issue a warrant to
the freeholders requiring them to view the said lands and ascertain what
ig just compensation to such owner or tenant for the damage to him by
reason of anything done under the preceding section. The said free-
holders, after being sworn, shall accordingly ascertain such compensation
and report the same to the board of supervisors, and a warrant shall be
issued by them for this amount to the complaining party at their next
quarterly meeting.

§8. Where the public roads in said counties form dividing lines between
magisterial districts, the board of supervisors shall divide such roads be-
tween the districts as they may deem best.

89. When the roads that have been ordered to be established or altered
the court so ordering may order the opening of the roads or alteration to
be made by the nearest road overseer, or overseers. In all such cases the
overseers shall perform such duty in the same manner as herein pre-
scribed, and shall be entitled to the same compensation as for similar
work on roads now established.

$10. For the purpose of performing their duties under this act, the
board of supervisors shall meet four times per year—namely: the second
Mondays in February, May, August, and November, and they may ap-
point and hold such other meetings as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this act. At each of the meetings above mentioned, it shall
he the duty of the board of supervisors to settle with the overseers, and
ascertain and audit the amounts due any persons for labor, teams, wagons,
and other implements aforesaid, and issue their warrants therefor: pro-
vided, however, that they shall not issue or deliver said warrants or audit
said claims until the said overseers shall have first made out and filed
with said board their reports as above provided. The said board of
supervisors, -at each of said quarterly meetings, shall diligently inquire
into the manner in which said overseers have performed their duties; and
in case said overseers, or any of them, shall have employed either labor,
teams, wagons, plows, or other implements when the same was not neces-
sary, for a greater time than was necessary, thereby creating an unneces-
sary expense, or if they find that said overseers, in their reports, have
made any overstatement, or false statement, of the expense in perform-
ing their duties under this act, the said board of supervisors shall remove
the said overseer, after first giving him twenty days’ notice; and more-
over, they shall ascertain the amount of such unnecessary expense, or the
amount of such false overstatement, which amount, when so ascertained,
shall stand as a charge against said overseers, for which said overseers
and the sureties on their bonds shall be liable; and no payment on ac-
count of their services shall be paid to any overseer so in default until
said amounts are paid.

$11. The board of supervisors of said county shall have power to re-
move any road overseer at any time during his term of office for neglect
of duty, or malfeasance in office, after first giving to any such overseer
twenty days’ notice of the time and place of meeting for the purpose of
investigating any such neglect or malfeasance.

$12. The said overseers shall each receive the sum of one dollar and
twenty-five cents per day for every necessary day employed in performing
their duties under this act, such compensation to be ascertained by the
hoard of supervisors at their quarterly meetings, subject to the foregoing
restrictions, and shall be paid by warrants of the said board of super-
visors on the treasurer of the said county.

$13. The said board of supervisors shall, from time to time, fix the
prices allowed for the use of teams, plows, wagons, and other implements
used on said roads and prepare a schedule thereof, a copy of which shall
be delivered to each overseer by the county clerk: provided, that no price
be allowed for the use of any implement, the market value of which does
not exceed one dollar. The said board of supervisors may, in their dis-
cretion, furnish to any and all overseers all necessary tools, machinery,
implements, teams, and soforth, and the said board of supervisors shall
have the right to adopt such additional rules and regulations not incon-
aistent with the provisions of this act for the purpose of fully carrying
into effect the intent of this act.

$14. It shall be the duty of each supervisor to keep himself informed
as to the condition of the public roads and bridges in his magisterial dis-
trict, the manner in which they are worked and kept in repair, and
whether or not the overseers of their several sections have fully per-
formed their duty, and for that purpose each supervisor shall inspect all
the roads and bridges in his district at least once in every six months, and
make report in writing to the board of supervisors of the said county, at
the February and August meetings of each year, which report shall be
filed in the county clerk’s office.

$15. For performing their duties under this act, the said board of
supervisors shall each receive such compensation as fixed by general law.

$16. Every overseer shall be liable to prosecution for any negligence
of duty or malfeasance in his office, and upon conviction shall be fined
in each case not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, and the
semi-annual reports of the supervisors of his district required by section
fourteen of this act, may be taken as evidence on which to found a prose-
cution.

§17. The board of supervisors shall annually levy, along with the
county levy, a tax upon the property, real and personal, assessed for tax-
ation in said counties, which shall be applied to working, constructing.
and: keeping in order the roads and bridges in said counties, and the com-
pensation of the overseers under the provisions of this act. Such tax
shall not exceed fifty cents on every one hundred dollars’ worth of such
property, and the same shall be collected and accounted for as if it were
a county levy.

The county treasurer of the said county shall keep a separate account
of this fund, and it shall be disbursed on the warrants of the board of
supervisors.

$18. For any service rendered by the clerk of the county aforesaid
under the provisions of this act he shall receive the same fees as now
allowed by law for like services.

$19. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are to that
extent repealed. This act shall be construed to repeal the general law on
roads only to the extent it conflicts therewith in the county of Carroll.

$20. By reason of the dangerous condition of the roads in said county.
and the necessity for their repair, an emergency is hereby declared to
exist, and this act shall be in force from its passage.