County petitions to close access to Caney Creek

BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST  -  The Winston County Commission has petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to temporarily close access to the area of the Bankhead National Forest off County Road 2 leading to Caney Creek Falls due to parking, overcrowding from visitors and other related dangers.
The commission voted in their regular meeting Feb. 11,  to pass a resolution petitioning the forest service to temporarily close the area of the forest leading to Caney Creek Falls. The letter drafted by the commission was addressed to District Ranger Andy Scott at Winston County’s office of the U.S. Forest Service in Double Springs.
The letter states that due to reoccurring incidents involving visitors to Caney Creek Falls, which have now brought response from the Winston County Sheriff’s Office, the commission is respectfully requesting that the access be temporarily closed.
The commission cites the ongoing “undue and excessive burden” placed on the county to protect the driving public from potential hazards as a result of several incidents that have occurred in that area, the letter states.