Waste Department hires new litter control officer

By Staff
Melissa Dozier-Cason, FCT Writer
The Solid Waste Department is cracking down on illegal dumping in Franklin County by hiring a dedicated litter control officer to patrol the county and keep it clean.
"The county is a mess right now, and we have to get it cleaned up." Philip Wilson, Solid Waste Manger, said.
The Solid Waste Department now has a Deputy Sheriff on their payroll dedicated to litter control in Franklin County.
Jake Tompkins, of Russellville, completed a 15-week training program at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Academy last week, Wilson said.
"He [Tompkins] is a certified deputy sheriff and will be able to write citations, and is a full officer of the law," Wilson said.
Tompkins will take a crew of county inmates out to clean up dump sites in the county.
The crew will consist of four to five inmates that have good behavior and are not charged with violent crimes, Wilson said.
The crew began today with district one, near Mountain Star community, and will progress through the county until it is clean.
Tompkins will also investigate dumpsites on bad weather days.
"We get calls almost everyday from citizens complaining about trash being dumped on their property," Nelson said.
The standard fine for littering is $500, however, a judge can order more or less depending on the situation. Usually citations are written when responsible parties are told to clean up their mess and they fail to do so, Wilson said.
"The only way to stop the problem is to make examples out of violators," Wilson said.
Wilson said that any person who pays a bill with the Solid Waste Department can bring unwanted items to the landfill twice a month at no charge.
"If citizen's have something that needs to be thrown out, they can bring their garbage stub to the landfill twice a month for free," Wilson said.