Vender license changes proposed

The town commissioners will be considering amending regulations that govern any businesses that want to sell goods and services from a non-permanent location or door-to-door in-town.

Willets told the News-Journal that, currently … any person wishing to do this must request a "vendor-license" from the town-clerk.

The proposed changes would protect the town and residents by requiring the vendors to present information on what goods and services they are planning to sell, and proof that they are qualified to do business before the town approves their license. Willets said.

The amendment to the existing regulations also gives the town the authority to deny the person a license if the services or goods don't comply with federal, state and local laws, or if the information on the application has been falsified, or if the company has had a fraudulent case entered against it within the past ten years.

"We want to protect our residents and make sure scammers aren't coming into town and selling items," the town manager stated.

The changes are proposed to be discussed and possibly adopted at the commissioners’ March 1 meeting.

Four Points Bridge re-opens

The 145-year-old wrought-iron bridge, which carries Keysville Rd. over Toms Creek, that has been closed since December for repairs, re-opened.

Engineer Amanda Radcliffe, county Division of Public Works, told the News-Journal that work proposed to have taken place on the Four Points Bridge has been delayed due to "the highway crews having been busy with all the winter storms … that they haven't been able to repair this bridge."

Radcliffe had previously described the damage that was discovered during an inspection that occurred toward the end of 2020 as a crack in a "critical member (structure)" of the bridge.

The repair to be made will be a temporary one. The county engineer said, "The (temporary) repair will likely involve the fabrication of steel-members to help support the location of the cracked bridge-member." The temporary fix will make the bridge safe for traffic.

She said the county Highway Operations is also pursuing a permanent repair that will replace the temporary repair. The retrofit repair will be installed at a later time and should "fit with the historic nature and aesthetics of the bridge."