Alderman angered at illegal dumping in ward

Published 12:15 am Thursday, May 23, 2013

Jay Sowers / The Natchez Democrat — Natchez Ward Two Alderman Ricky Gray points to a pile of trash that was recently dumped on a hillside within eyesight of the car wash he owns on Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Natchez on Wednesday morning.

Jay Sowers / The Natchez Democrat — Natchez Ward Two Alderman Ricky Gray points to a pile of trash that was recently dumped on a hillside within eyesight of the car wash he owns on Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Natchez on Wednesday morning.

NATCHEZ — One Natchez alderman is calling on residents to help catch people illegally dumping trash in his ward.

JAY SOWERS / THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT — Natchez Ward Two Alderman Ricky Gray recently noticed this pile of garbage that had been dumped onto a hillside from Henderson Street in Natchez, within eyesight of the car wash Gray operates on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

JAY SOWERS / THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT — Natchez Ward Two Alderman Ricky Gray recently noticed this pile of garbage that had been dumped onto a hillside from Henderson Street in Natchez, within eyesight of the car wash Gray operates on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

Ward 2 Alderman Ricky Gray said he is angered by an illegal dump site at the end of Henderson Street.

“It looks like somebody remodeled a house and then dumped all the carpet and old wood down in the bayou,” he said.

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Gray said he believes the site was previously cleaned up by the city using funding it received the Department of Environmental Quality.

“I’m mad because twice a year we receive up to $25,000 from DEQ to clean out illegal dump sites, and once you clean them out, you don’t expect somebody to come and re-dump stuff in it,” he said.

Gray said he talked to a city code enforcement officer about looking into the dump site, and the officer is issuing a letter to the property owner to clean up with site within 14 days.

Gray said he has talked to residents in the area and has urged them to call the police if they spot someone dumping trash at the site.

“They need to get their tag number and call the police; that is the only way we are going to alleviate this problem,” he said.