|
Featured Sections Headlines Opinion Obituaries Sports Crime Blotter Happenings Country Cooking Wandering Minds Classifieds Birthdays Off The Wall On The Record Archives Church Listings Live WebCam
Edgefield
Square  Featured Columns Pastor Williams Man to Man Tech Tips New! Carl Langley Editor's Column Dr. Skip Myers Registered Sex Offenders for Edgefield County 2005 Crime Stats Video & Audio Updates Audio Archive (Testing) Video Archive Contact us Contact Info or E-mail the Editor Phone: 803-634-0964 day 803-279-5041 eve 803-279-8943 fax Mail to EdgefieldDaily.com PO Box 972 Edgefield SC 29824 School System EC District Office School Board Strom Thurmond Charter Schools Fox Creek Private Schools Wardlaw Academy Public Offices Edgefield County Edgefield Johnston Trenton Political State and Federal Legislative Contacts Local Political Parties Republican Party Democrat Party Chamber of Commerce Edgefield County Chamber Historical Edgefield Genealogical Society News links Edgefield Advertiser The Citizen News Aiken Standard North Augusta Star The State Augusta Chronicle Atlanta Journal United Press Associated Press FOX News Reuters CNS News WorldNet Daily Newsmax Drudge Report GoogleNews Yahoo!News New York Times New York Post Los Angeles Times Washington Times Washington Post |
 Tip leads to discovery of possible illegal dump by school district web posted July 20, 2009 Below: Dumpsite discovered on Friday behind JET Middle School  EDGEFIELD – An
anonymous tip has led the
Sheriff’s Office to the discovery of what appears to be an illegal dump
operating on property owned by local taxpayers. To make matters worse
is who appears to be the one behind the dump, the Edgefield County
School District. When the dump was found it became obvious that the
materials in the large hole may be there illegally; chemicals,
electronics, roofing material, tires, mercury vapor light bulbs, and a
wide array of other items.  The discovery of the
dump took place on Friday afternoon when an
anonymous tip was provided to EdgefieldDaily.com that included a map to
the dump’s location, which the tipster kept. The location of the dump
was said to be in the woods behind the J.E.T. Middle School accessible
by a very small opening in the wood line. The Edgefield County
Sheriff’s Office was notified and later discovered the large open
ground pit with the debris piled inside. From the amount of dirt piled next to the pit, many yards long, it could reach a depth of four to six feet and is already overflowing with debris. Below: A discarded television set is found among the debris (center)  The South Carolina
Department of Health and Environmental Control
(DHEC) has been contacted in the investigation. According to their web
site, DHEC describes an illegal dump as, “the improper disposal of
waste at any location other than a permitted landfill or facility.” A search of licensed facilities in Edgefield County did not include the School District having any such permits. In addition, the school, as well as the District Office, is located less than a quarter of a mile away from a county operated trash and recycling center to handle the proper disposal of such materials, with exception to the commercial grade solid waste found on the site.  The materials found
in the pit were items DHEC says are typically dumped at illegal sites
such as construction and
demolition debris including drywall, shingles, lumber, bricks,
concrete, siding, in addition to electronics, vehicle parts, tires,
household garbage, chemicals, paint, and mercury vapor and florescent
light bulbs. Also found around the dumpsite was a large pile of lunchroom tables and other classroom tables, chairs, desks, and other material piled together. Not far away several toilets were piled together, most which have been busted apart.  “The really sad part
of all this is that while we’re teaching the kids
in the school (JET and STH) to protect the environment and recycle the
school is dumping all of this stuff right there in the back,” the
tipster told EdgefieldDaily.com.Indeed, among the items found in and around the dumpsite were aluminum, scrap iron, newspapers, plastics (clearly marked “recyclable”), and glass. School Board member Andy Livingston, contacted Sunday, stated he was unaware of any such dump being operated on School District property. He said there is no excuse for it being on the property and said he would be seeking an explanation as to its existence. “I guess the question I have is why it is there.” Livingston said.  Attempts to reach
other Edgefield County School Board members were
unsuccessful over the weekend. EdgefieldDaily.com will be contacting School Officials and seeking additional information from the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office as well as Officials with DHEC as this story continues to unfold. At this time it is unknown how far up in hierarchy of the school district office the knowledge of the existence of the dumpsite is known. The pit was constructed with the use of heavy equipment, most likely a backhoe. The school district happens to own backhoe that is generally located at the complex of JET Middles School, Strom Thurmond High, and the district office.  © Copyright 2009
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
|
NOTICE:
We still need recipes for Cooking Section WEBNEWS – Send in your favorite or favorites. There is no limit to the number of recipes you can send in. With the Editor’s wife being the driving force behind her own personal section, help her create an exchange of local favorites, home cooking, grilling, sauces, and deserts! Send in your submissions here. |
