Meet one of Shafer Road’s heroes
Photos by Shari Harris
Jack Rinne stands beside an area where Shafer Road has eroded into the driving lane, just north of Ware Road. Yellow tape and a sign warn drivers of the hazard. It is wise to wait for oncoming traffic to pass and avoid driving close to the edge of the road in this location.
The earth has eroded from beneath the pavement for a depth of eight to twelve inches along a stretch of the roadway several feet in length, leaving the pavement unsupported and at risk for crumbling beneath the weight of a vehicle. This is located immediately south of the culvert which goes under the road at R&S Track.
By Twyla Stone
Mr. Jack Rinne, who resides on Shafer Road in Licking, Missouri, is concerned about the safety of his seven grandchildren, his two sons, family and friends who travel on this dangerous road. In November of last year, following a county-wide flooding, Rinne put up yellow caution tape, along with barricades, marking a trench in the road. Since then, they have fallen down into the large trench. In the future, there will be a gigantic trench and no longer a direct route to downtown Licking and its churches and businesses.
Although this is a state road of Missouri, the Department of Transportation does not maintain this road. Why does the state NOT maintain its own road? Silly question, isn’t it? Doesn’t even make sense!
Rinne belongs to a special committee, the Committee for Improvements on Old Highway 63. Other committee members are Larry Wrest, Kenny Trout, Tony Brush, Carol Fox, Mike Washburn and Lonnie Buckner. Many other people are also worried about the condition of this road.
One such group of people are EZ Street Asphalt Co., which owns some land in the Licking area. On Thursday, March 6, 2025, the company began to repair 600 potholes! They were very generous to our community. Is the job done now? NO!! It is not their job to finish taking care of our road. This road is a state road, so the state needs to fix this road!
District 143 State Representative Bennie Cook and District 33 State Senator Brad Hudson have approached Governor Kehoe about our road. They were hoping to get our road renamed to Highway 137. They introduced HB 1173 to rename the road.
Watch for signs warning motorists of the potential for the road to crumble. Please note the number on the sign is incorrect. It should read 1-888-ASK-MODOT.
Commissioner Robert Ross has copies of many deeds and papers concerning Shafer Road. Many people are working on trying to get our Shafer Road fixed.
The situation does not look good; HB 1173 is dead. Now there are signs warning people about Shafer Road. My suggestion is that anyone who has ever driven on this road, or has family that has driven on this road, should call this number every week. 1-888-ASK-MODOT. Maybe MoDOT will be so inundated by phone calls that they will do something about the problem.
