Commissioners under fire for burn ban
Young County Commissioners split on whether to lift the burn ban on Aug. 29 after a spate of much-needed rain and constituents clamoring for the chance to burn brush piles and light homecoming bonfires. The commissioners took no action after much discussion and a tie vote on lifting the ban, which has been in place since June as area firefighters battled extreme drought conditions. Precinct 1 Commissioner Stacy Creswell voted no. “We’ve got places south of town where people don’t have cattle … and [have] grass that’s waist high, and brush piles they want to burn,” he said. “There’s no safe way to burn that no matter how you do it.” Precinct 2 Commissioner Matt Pruitt abstained from the vote, joking that he was “scared” to vote because of mounting pressure from both sides. “Newcastle Fire Department says they don’t want to lift it,” he said, noting that the town’s high school students were equally adamant about having a Homecoming bonfire the following weekend. “I just want to make the right decision for my constituents,” Mr. Pruitt said.



