OFFICIALS TARGET ILLEGAL DUMPING

Dumpsite Access Could Be Blocked At Walnut Buttoms

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Access should be limited to stop trash dumping and other
illegal activities in the Walnut Bottoms area north of Carthage, local
officials and residents said at a meeting Thursday.

Members of the Jasper County Commission called the meeting to discuss
whether the road could be closed into the region north of Spring River and
west of Highway 571.

Jim Honey, Eastern District commissioner, said he would like to see the
entrance gated to prevent trash dumping, drug use and other problems.

The area covers about 20 acres along Spring River. Part of the property was
given to the city of Carthage by the Missouri Conservation Commission, and
the rest is privately owned.

Richard Vacca, one of the landowners who attended the session, said he
wants the area closed.

He said he also would like to see a nearby bridge repaired or replaced so
he would have access to all of his property along the river. He said the
crossing now has a 3-ton load limit.

"We've cleaned it up before, but you can't get a truck back there now," he
said.

Blake Wolf, deputy county prosecutor, said the road could be vacated and
returned to the property owners, who could gate the land. But, he said,
county money cannot be spent on bridge repairs if the land is going to be
returned to private owners.

Vacca said a bridge would not be necessary if a low-water crossing could be
put in its place.

Clayton Christy, county engineer, said any construction on the river would
require permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Honey asked Christy to check with the agency, saying that getting the area
closed would be a good investment of county money.

"I feel like it would benefit everybody to keep down the trash and the
other activities," he said.

Cary Lee, assistant road superintendent, said syringes and other drug
paraphernalia are left in the area, and they wash into Spring River, along
with other trash, during flooding.

Tom Short, city administrator, said the city does not use the property and
has no interest in getting access to the area. Bob Williams, of the
Carthage Water & Electric Plant, said the utility does not need an easement
because it rerouted electric lines that used to go through the area.

"We couldn't keep them up; they kept shooting the insulators off," he said.

Telephone and cable lines still are on the poles, he said.

Honey said records show that local officials tried to do something about
the problems in 1997 and 2002.

"When you start looking at it, it's a lot more complicated," he said.

The group plans to meet again after receiving a response from the Corps of
Engineers.