Earlier this month, a public hearing was held by the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors concerning code violations at several private properties.

Four properties were brought before the Board due to litter violations, dilapidated structures, health department violations and a junk yard ordinance respectively.

County Code Enforcement Officer Kolby Davis brought the matters before the Board based on his observations and investigations.

The first property is located at 30 George Ford Rd., represented by Nancy Hebert, the wife of the owner. Davis said the property currently contains a large amount of waste creating a menace to public health. He said it has been in that state for about three years, and while there appear to have been minor attempts to remove the waste from the property, Davis speculates those attempts were conducted by other members of the public since the area cleared was adjacent to the road.

Hebert said she has been trying to clean it up herself, but her husband has medical problems and she has no income of her own to pay someone to remove the trash. Estimates received by the couple to clean the property range from $1,500 to burn the waste, or $4,000 to move it to the county landfill in Millard.

Davis said the trash is being added to the property faster than it is being removed.

The next property discussed is located at 1346 John Amacker Road. Davis said his investigation showed that about two and a half years ago a temporary power pole was installed on the property for a temporary camper trailer. After the power pole was installed, a dilapidated mobile home was set up on the property, possibly over night.

“It just appeared there and they did not go through the proper process,” Davis said.

The mobile home is now torn in two pieces and falling apart, and there are a “bunch of other camper trailers” on the property now, Davis said.

Several attempts via mail and in person to contact the occupants have been unsuccessful. No one came to the meeting to represent the owners of that property.

The next property discussed is located at 28 Hunters Trace. Davis said that while the subdivision has covenants, he has found multiple violations at that address which include an overflowing septic tank and four to six vehicles, tires and engines piled up on the property. His attempts to contact the homeowner were met by people saying they live there, but don’t own the property. However his research has shown the people who live there are the owners. No one came to the meeting to address the issues Davis described.

The last property discussed during the meeting is located at 1637 Highway 11 in Nicholson. Davis said this is the newest situation on his list, and involves mostly a junk yard ordinance violation. He said the 1.5 acres of the property in question is “slammed full of stuff.”

Danny Kennedy and two other occupants of the property attended the meeting to address the concerns. Danny Kennedy said he and the two other men have been working to clear the property, including disposing of six loads of used tires. He estimates he has about three more loads to dispose of before he is done. When asked where the tires are being taken, Kennedy said a friend has been using them to keep a water way intact in the Poplarville area.

Davis said there is also a camper parked extraordinarily close to the roadway.

When a member of the Board suggested the occupants dispose of the tires at the county barn in Millard, they also asked Road Department Manager Charlie Scheilder to detail the policy on that option. Scheilder said typically the county only accepts up to 10 tires per month, but due to the nature of the case, he will advise his staff to expect a larger drop off from Kennedy.

Kennedy said he acquired the tires in the hopes of starting his own small business, but never followed through.

The Board then went into executive session to discuss the violations, and when they came back to open session decided to adjudicate the property located at 30 George Ford Rd., so county crews could remove the waste, while giving the other three owners until Aug. 17 to take care of their violations before moving forward, County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said.