Citizens air concerns about dumping

A large contingent of citizens living in the Tallahassee Missionary Baptist Church area attended last Tuesday’s meeting of the Jeff Davis County Board of Commissioners to express their displeasure regarding trash and debris located on Tallahassee Church Road.
Tommy Moss spoke on behalf of the church regarding what he called the junkyard in front of the church. He said he had been a resident of the area for 84 years and was disturbed by the unsightly mess in front of the church.
“I’d like y’all to do something about it,” he said.
Yvonne McIver echoed Moss’ comments adding, “It’s gotten to the point that we need to bring to the public’s attention about the illegal dumping on Tallahassee Church Road.”
“It’s pure evil,” she continued, “to have something like that next to God’s house. It’s eventually going to go so far as to affect people’s health and the wildlife’s health.”
Commission Chairman Hank Hobbs told the group that the commission had received detailed photos of the area and said the commissioners would address the matter.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the meeting, the commissioners have visited the area and are in discussions about what can be done.]
In other action, the commissioners ….
…. voted to resend a motion made on March 12, and change the hours for county dump sites to Tuesday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
…. approved allowing Tax Commissioner Susie Kersey to move the tax sales from the courthouse steps to inside the courthouse.
…. heard an update on Ira Graham Road from Chairman Hobbs who said that the paving of the road was put off by Hofstadter and Associates engineering firm because of rains in the area. Hobbs said the work should begin within a week and a half.
…. heard from Commissioner James Benjamin who expressed his concerns about the commissioners’ decision to base the distribution of Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant funds in each commission district based on the miles of paved roads in each district rather than dividing it equally among the five districts. The Hazlehurst District, which Benjamin represents, has the least mileage of paved roads and, therefore, would receive the least amount of grant funds to maintain those roads.
…. heard from Phil Merritt who expressed his appreciation for the commissioners allowing the Jeff Davis County Veterans Association (JDCVA) to use the old Sheriff’s Department investigation building for JDVCA meetings and storage.
…. held a short meeting in closed session to discuss real estate.