As he was driving down a beautiful dirt road in Portal near his home, Bulloch County Probate Judge Lee Deloach got a nasty surprise.
What should have been a clear, babbling creek was cluttered with trash. Black plastic garbage bags, leftover mail, soggy paper, plastic bottles - household garbage someone carelessly tossed onto the road and into the creek on Two Chop Road, located between Portal-Rocky Ford Road and Moore Road.
"A local resident called me to report that he saw someone in a new model black Dodge truck throw out a bag into this creek Friday, Dec. 29," Deloach told the Statesboro Herald. "Apparently when they saw him, they fled and he was unable to get the tag number. "
But the trash itself has left some clues. Bulloch County Code Enforcement Officer Gary Lanier retrieved some of the debris and located a citizen's name on the trash.
There is still more garbage to be gathered from the water, he said, and the trash could reveal additional names that could lead to penalties.
According to a spokesman from the Bulloch County Magistrate Court, the fines for improperly discarding trash ranges from around $56 to $200 or more, depending upon the situation.
It should be more, Lanier said. Deloach agreed.
The probate judge has been a member of Keep Bulloch Beautiful "since its inception in 2000," he said. "I was president for two years and am still an active member."
Seeing where people have trashed the county he loves makes Deloach see red. "As soon as people learn this is against the law, we will have less of this," he said. "It's very discouraging that people don't respect the land any more than that."
The closest recycling center to the area Deloach saw trashed is only two miles, he said.
Trash tossed out a window or intentionally dumped like this situation is "unsightly and gets into our brooks and creeks and gets into our water supply," he said. "It is unattractive and unhealthy. If something isn't done to curb this, what is it going to be like in a few years?"
Deloach hopes fines such as the offender in the Two Chop Road dumping will raise awareness that dumping is illegal and will make people more careful.
Today isn't like the past, where land owners would designate remote areas of their property on which to deposit debris and trash, he said.
Citizens are urged to take garbage to designated recycling centers or Dumpster sites, or hire a garbage disposal service to pick up trash, he said.
Lanier said the Two Chop Road dumping incident remains under investigation and citations will be issued soon when the investigation is completed.
What should have been a clear, babbling creek was cluttered with trash. Black plastic garbage bags, leftover mail, soggy paper, plastic bottles - household garbage someone carelessly tossed onto the road and into the creek on Two Chop Road, located between Portal-Rocky Ford Road and Moore Road.
"A local resident called me to report that he saw someone in a new model black Dodge truck throw out a bag into this creek Friday, Dec. 29," Deloach told the Statesboro Herald. "Apparently when they saw him, they fled and he was unable to get the tag number. "
But the trash itself has left some clues. Bulloch County Code Enforcement Officer Gary Lanier retrieved some of the debris and located a citizen's name on the trash.
There is still more garbage to be gathered from the water, he said, and the trash could reveal additional names that could lead to penalties.
According to a spokesman from the Bulloch County Magistrate Court, the fines for improperly discarding trash ranges from around $56 to $200 or more, depending upon the situation.
It should be more, Lanier said. Deloach agreed.
The probate judge has been a member of Keep Bulloch Beautiful "since its inception in 2000," he said. "I was president for two years and am still an active member."
Seeing where people have trashed the county he loves makes Deloach see red. "As soon as people learn this is against the law, we will have less of this," he said. "It's very discouraging that people don't respect the land any more than that."
The closest recycling center to the area Deloach saw trashed is only two miles, he said.
Trash tossed out a window or intentionally dumped like this situation is "unsightly and gets into our brooks and creeks and gets into our water supply," he said. "It is unattractive and unhealthy. If something isn't done to curb this, what is it going to be like in a few years?"
Deloach hopes fines such as the offender in the Two Chop Road dumping will raise awareness that dumping is illegal and will make people more careful.
Today isn't like the past, where land owners would designate remote areas of their property on which to deposit debris and trash, he said.
Citizens are urged to take garbage to designated recycling centers or Dumpster sites, or hire a garbage disposal service to pick up trash, he said.
Lanier said the Two Chop Road dumping incident remains under investigation and citations will be issued soon when the investigation is completed.