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Meeting Called For LDF Road Dispute

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A dispute over taking care of the roads in Lac du Flambeau between the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the town of Lac du Flambeau has led to a meeting next week.

George Thompson is the tribe's Program Manager for the Lac du Flambeau tribal roads department. Thompson says the town filed paperwork with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1919 concerning roads in place at the time.

He says the tribe then lacked the means to maintain the roads until 1935...

"....because we were in a working relationship, a good working relationship at the time, not just Lac du Flambeau but a couple of other surrounding townships, we kept these agreements going until the late 1970's when the tribe started entering into the Self-Determination Act...."

Thompson says they've worked hard to have a government that has the same functions as in any other town, as in roads, infrastructure and safety of the public. Thompson says relationship with the Town of Lac du Flambeau has been 'touch and go'.

He says overall, the roads are in good shape but there are safety concerns...

"....narrow right-of-ways that have trees off the edge of the asphalt, old stumps, lighting issues that need to be addressed because there's a high population of pedestrians using them. We have done previous 'co-ops' with the town of Flambeau to address multiple safety issues on these roads in the past. We're just not there, up to current standards...."

Thompson says they did do some road safety audits that reflected concerns about sharp corners, improper signage and other issues. He says the tribe has a concern for everyone coming to the reservation and they want to make sure their experiences is a good one. Thompson says they are looking forward a joint meeting on April 20 to resolve the on-going issues.

We contacted the Town of Lac du Flambeau for response but did not get a call back in time for this story.

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