Cleveland Co. Can't Fix Washed Out Road, State Rep. Says

Favorable weather forecasts are doing little to calm some residents in rural Cleveland County. A half-mile stretch of Carolyn Drive, just south of S.E. 149th Street was washed out by recent heavy rains. 

What was once a gravel road is now just drying mud. Nine families who live along the road said they've asked for help at both the county and state level. Republican State Representative Josh Cockroft represents the area in the state legislature. He said state law right now forbids Cleveland County from helping fix the road, because it's a private road. He said the state may want to re-think that. 

5/25/2015 Related Story: Storms Wash Out Cleveland Co. Road, Residents Stranded

“Are there some things we need to do in times of natural disaster? We have them every year, whether it's a tornado, earthquake, or flooding. Are there some things we can do to untie the hands of county officials?” he said. 

Okey McCarty lives at the end of Carolyn Drive with his wife, who is disabled. McCarty recently established a GoFundMe.com account on his Facebook page, in hopes of getting help fixing the road. “It's not just us, and I know that. It just seems like we're the forgotten people out here though,” he said.