Cummings Addresses Leaky Roofs at 4 County Buildings

RISON - County Judge Jimmy Cummings addressed leaky roof problems at four county buildings and also got approval for a settlement regarding a business sign that was damaged by a county road grader during the Cleveland County Quorum Court's regular monthly meeting Monday night. Cummings brought up the leaky roofs at the county jail, the courthouse, the Cleveland County Health Unit and the Cleveland County Cooperative Extension Office during the May quorum court meeting and gave updates on each of those buildings Monday night: County Jail - Cummings said he had a contractor looked at the slate roof over the jail and found some tiles were missing. He told the quorum court the missing tiles were the only possible source for the leak they could find. The judge said there has not been enough rain to determine if the new tiles worked. This has been an ongoing issue at the jail. Extension Office - Cummings said the source of the leak at the Extension Office on Magnolia Street in Rison was that the membrane on the flat portion of the roof had worn out with age. He said the solution is simply re-placing that section of the membrane. Courthouse Leak - Cummings said he believes the cause of the leaks inside the courthouse is b stopped up drains coming off the roof. He said the blockages were difficult to see until he got up on the clock tower for a better overview. Once looking down from the clock tower, he said it was evident that some of the drains were not working properly. The solution, Cummings said, will be to have a plumber clean out the drain pipes to allow the water to drain to the ground. Cummings also addressed Bradford tree next to the courthouse that has limbs hanging over the roof. He said that was a contributing factor to the drains becoming clogged, adding that the architect overseeing the current restoration project of the brick mortar outside the courthouse advised him to do a "radical pruning" on the tree. Health Uni...