During Wednesday’s Lyon County Commission study session, commissioners learned about the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s plan to help clean up an illegal dump site located Gibson’s Recycling, 2804 W. South Ave.
Gibson’s Recycling, owned by Richard Carley, is a metal recycling drop-off site. No other trash or items including furniture or mattresses are allowed at the site. However, through the years, the public has used the site as a catch-all dump, causing problems for the landowner. KDHE has agreed through the Illegal Dump Clean-Up Program to provide funds to help build a fence at the location and clean up the rest of the waste that has been dumped at the site.
Bob Medina, environmental specialist with KDHE, visited the Lyon County Commission Wednesday morning and spoke to them about the site. Medina said the KDHE is working with law enforcement to catch and prosecute anybody caught dumping on the site.
“This is a metal recycler,” Medina said.
Medina said law enforcement will be more aggressive in prosecuting people who are caught.
“This place is under surveillance,” Medina said. “It we catch you we are going to prosecute you.”
A gate will be put up and the recycling center will have hours. KDHE will pay Lyon County to use their crews to finish cleaning up the site.
“We’re only looking at about $1,500 to finish up what is there,” Medina said. “It may cost a little bit more than that. ... What I’d like to see you do is use your own crews and go clean it up.”
Landowner Richard Carley said there’s a lot of illegal dumping going on at the site.
“I can’t be there 24/7,” he said.
Carley said when the city’s Transfer Station is closed, he plans on being closed as well. However, it likely won’t keep people from dumping.
“You can go up on that road on any given evening and here comes the mattresses and the recliner, the shingles and the wood...” he said. “We’ve had the signs up there and the public pays no attention to it.”
Medina said with a fence, gates and better surveillance, the dumping can be slowed and eventually stopped.
“Hopefully the problem will be eliminated,” he said.
Medina said it will take about four to five business days to get contracts ready and signed and it could be next week when he gives directions for the county to start work on the site. KDHE can pay up to $10,000 on an illegal dump site and prevention, Medina said, though he doesn’t foresee the cost being that high.
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Good luck. People can be very inconsiderate about dumping their trash. We live out in the county and the amount of litter in our ditches is unbelievable. We had a couch tossed off the road in a deep ditch a few years back. I wonder when common courtesy became uncommon.
May 27, 2009 at 1:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Hey, free couch.;)
May 27, 2009 at 2:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gooseylucy (anonymous) says...
I too live in the county and get tired of people using the county as a dumping ground. Everything from dogs & cats to furniture, appliances, and trash. And don't even get me started on the 4th of July. That's probably the worst time. You will find spent fireworks, the packages they came in, beer cans and bottles, cardboard boxes etc. We don't mind you coming out and shooting off your fireworks, just be considerate and pick up your trash!! How would you like it if I dumped my trash in your front yard??
May 27, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
ha ha seriously! I didn't get the treat of seeing how they hauled that thing out of that drop off.
I agree lucy, it's not just trash but unwanted pets too. We've had a real problem lately with stray cats being tossed out like old papers. Sad and disgusting.
May 27, 2009 at 2:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
goodoleboy (anonymous) says...
Call animal control, if that fails(which it often does) invest in a decent rifle and warm it up.
May 27, 2009 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Easier said than done, goodoleboy. We've been after a stray cat for a couple of weeks. It ghosts in, snatches food and fights with our cats and vanishes before we can get the shotgun out. We've tried trapping it but no luck so far. It probably was trapped then dumped.
We've had no luck with animal control doing anything out in the county. We turned vicious dogs in several times but nothing was done. I hear they have a new manager now so maybe it will be better next time.
May 27, 2009 at 3:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
goodoleboy (anonymous) says...
Kinda tells the tale that rural residents most likely need animal control more than city residents...... I have fought the battle many years, had people tell me I could go to jail for shooting strays, approached a lawyer about it, found that if the strays are threatening me or my pets in anyway I am well within my right off them. Few cents for a bullet or more wasted tax dollars to a shelter where they are "housed" until adopted or euthanized. I'm sure I'll get scolded for saying what I said, but get a pack of stray dogs after you and anyone will change their tune real fast.
May 27, 2009 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nks (anonymous) says...
It was pathetic seeing how some of our fellow Emporians abused the dumpster set out at Walnut school several weeks ago.
There was a huge sign stating very plainly "no furniture". It only took a little while for some pathetic lazy a$$ people to throw a chair or two and a couch in on top of the pile.
May 27, 2009 at 4:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Maybe PETA could come out and get all those strays and take care of em. They live for that sorta thing.
From what I hear sheltering them until they are whacked or adopted might be cheaper than a bullet before too long.;)
May 27, 2009 at 5:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
barefootin (anonymous) says...
Next time I need new furniture, I ll go to the country, browse around, then pick some lovely furniture out of the ditches he he.
May 27, 2009 at 6:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
recycling is gooood
May 27, 2009 at 7:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
You know what you can do with that comment, Observation. The good parts of living out in the country far outweigh the bad. It's CITY people dumping their unwanted trash and pets out in the country. Why would I want to live next door to such inconsiderate jerks? Been there, done that, hated it. Why should those of us who live outside the city limits have to inherit all the problems of Emporia? It's not our RESPONSIBILITY to haul off YOUR trash and adopt or put down YOUR unwanted pets. I am looking out for my well-being by protesting the unwarranted dumping.
May 28, 2009 at 10:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I think the reason people live in the country is that the are less tolerant than us high falutin city folks and they can't handle the day to day problems that come with no man being an island.
Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.
...The chores.
...The stores.
...Fresh air.
...Times Square
You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.
May 28, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
ha ha seriously! I like living in the country because most people are friendly and considerate of others. We're truly neighbors not just people living in the same block. Five households went to the commission meeting to support one family on a raw deal they were getting from the electric coop. We paid for a sitter so we could go help them out. I don't know too many places in Emporia where that would happen.
And I do love the fresh air, too. :)
May 28, 2009 at 10:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
I love watching Green Acres reruns... I too have the song memorized. lol
May 28, 2009 at 11:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
madpoet
I was just givin' you a hard time. I personally don't have a problem with country livin' cept I had a buddy I worked with about 9 yrs ago that got his arm burned pretty bad burnin' trash or brush or somethin'. I think an aerosol can blew up or something. It was OK though he could still hold his Mountain Dew bottles. Country livin' can be dangerous but if it's worth it for you that's cool.
May 28, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I know you were kidding, serouslyfolks. I found your comment amusing. It was Observation's rude comment I didn't care for one bit.
Burning trash can be dangerous. We once had a visitor throw a aerosol can in our trash without telling us. You've never seen two people move so fast when we heard something hissing in the burn barrel! I sure made a big BOOM and scared a week off both of us.
You didn't work at Lenze with the burned guy did you? If so I know exactly who you're talking about. ;)
May 28, 2009 at 1:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Could be.;)
May 28, 2009 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Don't worry, he can still hold his Mountain Dew bottles. :D And that was his own fault for using a butane lighter to light a brush pile. It flashed and got him. That is not an experience I ever want to repeat. There's nothing that sticks in your memory better than seeing a person on fire. Ugh!
You wouldn't happen to be JW, would you?
May 28, 2009 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
Not J.
May 28, 2009 at 1:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Aren't there big wolf spiders out there in the country? :oooo
May 28, 2009 at 3:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Yes, we have big spiders but they don't eat much. :) I've seen more recluse spiders at work than home, too. We have snakes, and bugs and all sorts of things that go bump in the night. ;) We are true rednecks and like to sit on the patio on summer nights and watch the bats eat bugs from around the yard light. Frogs serenade us to sleep every spring, too. We give the critters respect and we get along pretty well. We get an occasional bad raccoon or possum tearing stuff up so we grit our teeth and put it down. Actually, the possums aren't too hard to deal with since they are stupid and smelly. Hmm, that sounds like some people I know...Too bad I can't club them over the head and make them act better. ;)
May 28, 2009 at 9:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I must confess that one time I went to the country with a truck( borrowed from a country guy I knew cuz I drive a subcompact Japanese deallywhopper) load of trash to dump it in a ditch but when I got out to unload the truck I heard banjo music and I quickly turned tail and ran. I'll never try that again.
May 28, 2009 at 10:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
seriously, ROFLMAO!!! I'm hoping everyone else has seen "Deliverance." So funny!!!
May 29, 2009 at 9:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I hope you're not saying "Deliverance" was funny.;)
May 29, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Unfortunately, it's not legal for me to shoot or club the people who dump poor animals out in the country to die a slow death of starvation or get hit by a car or eaten by a predator. And no, we don't often catch the people in the act of dumping since they know it's wrong and do it when no one is around. My neighbors wait until free landfill days to load up the truck to take trash to the transfer station to dump. Why would we want to mess our own nest? I can't prove it's city people doing the dumping but I can't prove a lot of things I believe to be true.
Serously, I'll have to get a copy of the Deliverance music just to play loudly to scare off people. Great idea! ;)
May 29, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Oh, and Observation, after you've had possums kill kittens and leave their eaten corpes behind your log pile and a raccoon totally trash your birdfeeders and patio, you would get a club out too. We leave them alone until they get destructive.
May 29, 2009 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
madpoet:
Speaking of the recluses you see at work, I have to concur that there are some freaky critters at that place. My dad(your co-worker whose retirement party was yesterday) has brought home tons of nature from that place that you don't ordinarily see---ever. Over the years, I became wary of small containers or glass jars he brought home. We lived on the edge of town up against a field and never saw such things and now that he lives way out in the country, he still only finds them at work. There is just something weird about that place. He has taken to adding the dead and "mummified" specimens he finds to my mom's home decor so I don't know how he'll entertain himself now that he won't be there. Don't be surprised if you see him "hunting" out back on occasion. :)
My parents don't get too much dumping around their house, though. I think it must be too far out for people to bother---I'm not sure, though. I think it's safe to say that the cheap slobs who do this dumping are also to lazy to drive too long or far to illegally dump their junk.
On a side note, I need a twin box or springs. Does anyone know of any in good condition (hasn't been rained or peed on)? LOL
May 29, 2009 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Did he tell you about the ducklings?
May 29, 2009 at 4 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Ha ha. Way too small to eat. ;)
No, I took them to the zoo so they could be raised and released. A couple of guys at work found them and captured them so they wouldn't die. No mom, just tiny babies about half the size you get from F&F Feeds. We think the recent flooding washed them down the ditch. I smile to imagine these big tough men chasing tiny black and gold ducklings around.
May 29, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
That sounds recent....I don't think I knew about that. I will have to ask him why he never brought something like that home. I want a pet duck!
The bat (the most normal of all the critters) was kind of cute, but disturbing as well. I think (hope) it got released in a wooded area.
May 29, 2009 at 11:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
It was a couple of weeks ago. The day before I was to get our ducklings from F&F. They were so small they'd have needed an incubator. After I took them to the zoo RS said he'd have taken them. If our ducks breed next year, we'll have some babies to give away and we'll keep you in mind. These are Rhone ducks that look like mallards with smaller wings. Good pond cleaners. :) You might call F&F and see if they still have any. Maybe someone didn't pick theirs up.
May 30, 2009 at 9:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
Thank you, but truthfully it'll be a few years before I'm ready--have to get little ones bigger and build a habitat since we are in town. When I'm getting closer, I'll check with you and the other you suggested. Thanks!!
May 30, 2009 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
The story subject; Been allowed to happen for far too long. Seen it being done in the daytime, seen folks pilfering thru the junk looking for treasures too. It's not always just the city folks who dump stuff off in the ditches in the county, just the majority of the time it is. I've picked alot of farm related trash/junk up out of my ditch over the years. Nothing like a wad of twine or baling wire in the mower blades to get you PO'd. The latest was a wad of barbed wire, took me an hour to get it out of my mowing deck. There are alot of jealous jerks and dipsticks out there that just can't stand it when someone tries to make their place look nice, they have to throw some trash out their windows where there's none or the grass has been freshly mowed. Cowardly sorts. Dumping of animals is pretty low, would love to take those folks out in the middle of the desert and dump them off to let them experience it.
May 31, 2009 at 5:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )