After hearing a resident's concerns about the deterioration of Massas Creek Road, representatives from the county, Missouri Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Conservation Services agree future upkeep will be determined, in part, by Mother Nature. Last year's record rainfalls only compounded the problem with keeping the gravel road passable. "This isn't the only road that has been like this," said Tammy Teeter, of the NRCS agency. Heavy rainfall in a short time span has forced water to top the creek banks on numerous occasions and over time caused the roadway to erode. Ray Oetting, who lives on Massas Creek Road, said last year's rainfall hampered travel significantly, even worse compared to when the county and the Midwest was hit by major flooding in 1993. Mail and trash service was interrupted, leading him to wonder what could happen in the event of a medical emergency. He met with the county commissioners and other state entities on April 1 near his home on the county road, located in the southwestern part of the county. Running parallel to Massas Creek, the gravel road starts near Jonesburg and winds its way down to Highway 94. While few people live in the southern portion off Massas Creek, the road is used by visitors to the Massas Creek Companion Animal Shelter, a facility Oetting owns. This isn't the first time Oetting has brought his concerns to the county commission. His last visit was in November when he presented a petition signed by 240 people who either lived on the road or use it to access the 11-year-old animal shelter, the only one in the county. Oetting, who disagrees with the road maintenance method the county uses, feels the county is responsible for making sure the road remains passable. "It (the road is) getting worse every year," he said. Oetting blames some of the creek's flooding problems on the Garland Woods subdivision, located on the ridgeline overlooking the creek. He said numerous trees were cut to make room for homes, allowing stormwater to roll down the hill into the creek without any regulations or prevention methods to keep from more flooding. Oetting says it's time for the county to adopt stormwater control regulations to keep similar occurrences from happening elsewhere. "Something needs to be done to educate the people," he said. "It's fine to cut trees, but they need to leave some of them. They can't cut them all down. Garland Woods has been a real detriment to us." The commissioners emphasized that they are not ignoring Massas Creek. For one, they pointed out the upper portion has been upgraded with new bridges and boxed culvert crossings within the past several years. Also, the county is in the process of revising its zoning order to include a section on stormwater control. "It (last year's rain) was the worse I had ever seen," Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said. "We didn't get to harvest until the middle of December. That's not our fault. That's Mother Nature and we have to work with it." The current condition of Massas Creek pleased Teeter, a district conservationist with the NRCS. "It looks a lot better than it ever has looked," she said. To help stabilize and build the road back up, the county has been removing rock from the gravel bars on Massas Creek. The commissioners also are currently considering buying equipment that will help remove and screen rock from the creek. The commissioners agree it's a cost effective way to replace what is lost when the road floods. The county plans on meeting with the Conservation Department and NRCS in the future to review other methods that could be used to improve Massas Creek Road. "With the rains we had (last year), there's not much that is going to work," Teeter said. "It takes time. It's a process. Nothing is going to happen overnight."