Roughly 20 years ago, Earnie Ross built his home at the end of Rapp Lane in Stonelick Township.His home sits on top of a hill in a relatively secluded area.Driving up Rapp Lane is picturesque, with trees surrounding and overhang ing the road."It's very pretty in the fall," Ross said.It's a steep hill, and Ross said it can get slick and dangerous in the winter.Ross said in the two decades he's lived in his home, he's never had a problem with the road being plowed when it snows.However, Ross said that's now stopped."I seriously am just speechless," Ross said.Hear why the township stopped maintenance on part of the road in the video below: Township stops plowing road, leaving homeowner to maintain it himselfRoss said the township recently sent a letter to his neighbor saying the county had uncovered a document from 1945 regarding property lines in the area.The document, sent to us by the Clermont County engineer, indicates roughly the first 1,325 feet, or one-quarter mile, of Rapp Lane is public road. However, the rest is deemed private property. "Basically, what the letter said is we are no longer going to be maintaining the latter portion of the road, which they have been for 22, 23 years," Ross said.Ross said he hasn't received the letter himself yet.He said the change created a hassle for his family during the snowstorm last weekend."We didn't leave until Monday after a friend finally got done with his snow plowing on his commercial contracts, came and helped us out," Ross said.Ross said the township has indicated that he is now responsible for maintaining the remaining stretch of road, a change that he said leaves him in a difficult spot."We got enough driveway as it is, let alone having to maintain it all the way to the bottom of the hill," Ross said.We reached out to township trustee Dave Pennington to learn more about what's going on.Pennington said the road had been maintained by the township for years in error. He said the county or township can not maintain the parts of the road that are private.The county engineer told us the road on private property is ineligible for maintenance utilizing public funds.Ross said that if he had known this would become an issue, he wouldn't have built his home where he did."There's so many things that could have happened negatively that I just can't, (it's) surreal to me that this has even happened," Ross said.Ross told us he's not sure he can afford to maintain the road himself. He said he feels betrayed."It's hard for us to even fathom that the government that we have supported so much in this area and this county has done this to us so abruptly, so callously," Ross said. "They don't care."Pennington told us Ross could ask the county to re-evaluate the property lines and try to get the rest of the road deemed public.Ross said he's frustrated that it's come to this, and is hoping the county or township can help find a resolution for him that doesn't leave him dealing with the problem by himself."We're not even sure where to go or what to do at this point," Ross said. ...read more read less