If one believed in conspiracies in McHenry County, one might think the gouging of the grass along parts of Fleming Road was deliberate.

The McDot mower went right next to one of the trees targeted for destruction under the original County plan to widen Fleming Road.

There certainly could be motive for McDOT’s defacing the shoulders along the stretch of scenic rural highway.

The County Highway employee who mowed this part of Fleming Road damaged the shoulder.

After all, the Fleming Road Alliance put so much pressure on the McHenry County Board, that the Highway Department had to back off from its plans to widen and level the road to an extent that lots of Bull Valley folks thought it was deliberately designed to be an eastern truck bypass of Woodstock.

State highway workers don't mow the shoulders until young wildlife have reached the age to survive on their own.

Whether the original plan or the possible retribution holds any credence, the damage done by County employees certainly marred the sides of the road.

You can see that from the photos.

Maybe the mowing of the shoulders of Fleming Road was a "make work" project. It's not as if people regularly park next to the roadway.

The pictures came along with this email last night from Emily Berendt:

“As I drove down Fleming Road this morning, not far behind the MCDOT Mowers, I was appalled at the condition of the roadsides.

“Large patches of earth were scraped bare of vegetation, deep gouges were dug into the banks, tire marks dug into the shoulders.

“At the southern end of the road, mowers encroached about 20 feet into the hay the entire length of the field, taking down that much of the farmers crop.

“A call to Anna May Miller resulted in her agreeing to look into this.

“We will be attending the Transportation Committee meeting tomorrow morning to see what transpires.

“The last picture is our new sign in response to the damage.”

"Mow Shoulder Not More Don't Scrape or Gouge!" says the Fleming Road Alliance sign.