LINDEN &8212; There may soon be one less county road to operate if the wishes of some landowners are granted by the Marengo County Commission.

At last month&8217;s meeting, George Robertson, chief forester for Scotch Lumber Company, asked the commission to consider closing the road opposite Apricot Road on the west side of Highway 43. Robertson said the road is vacant to traffic, and if it were closed a gate would be put up and outfitted with a lock.

Tuesday Ben Etheredge continued the process of closing the road by presenting the commission with a series of petitions by landowners on the road saying they are in favor of the change.

Before a road can be closed, a notice must be run in a local newspaper and public hearing must be held to allow anyone to speak in favor or against it. Tuesday&8217;s meeting served as that public hearing, and no one came to speak against the proposal.

Commission Chairman Calvin Martin asked that all the petitions be notarized, a request Etheredge said he could comply with.

The remaining commissioners agreed. Pending a legal review of the petitions and the procedure, the commission approved the closing of the road.

In other business, the commission:

Approved the low bid from St Bunn for paving in French Creek. The county was awarded a $60,000 grant for the project, and commissioners voted to approve the low bid with the stipulation the City of Demopolis pay for the remainder of the project.

Approved liquor license applications for Conrad&8217;s Country Mart, Compton&8217;s Grocery and Jimbo&8217;s.

Approved direct deposit of payroll checks for county employees.