Four Georgia residents are each facing up to six months in prison and $5,000 in fines if convicted of dumping garbage in the Shuler Creek area of Polk County.
The charges resulted after Polk County Executive Robby Hatcher received two tips about trash on the East side of the county, one a littered mess along a county road and the second a dump site that turned out to be on National Forest land.
Hatcher said he received a call from a Ducktown resident about garbage littering Grassy Creek Road just east of the railroad tracks near Rogers Bridge.
About the same time, another tip showed a picture of a dump site in the Shuler Creek area.
Hatcher said he met with litter coordinator Steve Lofty, who is in the process of stepping down from his position, and Will Wallace, who will succeed Lofty, at the Grassy Creek Road site Friday, January 8. There they found several names and addresses on mail in the garbage.
They next went to the Shuler Creek dump site, which was just off State Route 68 north of the Hiwassee River bridge. The same names and addresses were among the mound of trash near the river.
The three cleaned up the mess, as they had done on Grassy Creek Road, and loaded the garbage into Hatcher's cattle trailer.
Hatcher said he took the mail with the names, along with pictures of the litter along Grassy Creek Road and the Shuler Creek dump, to the 911 center in Ducktown to obtain warrants for the offenders.
There he was told by deputy sheriffs Michael Cochran and Chad Fields that the Shuler Creek dump was on National Forest land. The deputies suggested Forest Service Law Enforcement personnel be called.
According to Terry McDonnell, a spokesman for the Forest Service, federal officers identified four people involved in the illegal dumping and identified all as being from Georgia. McDonnell said each was charged with placing or leaving refuse debris, or litter in an exposed or unsanitary condition, and placing in or near a stream, lake, or other water any substance which does or may pollute a stream, lake or other water.
McDonnell would not identify the suspects, but his statement said all were issued mandatory court appearances for the violations.
Hatcher said the names he collected at both sites had addresses on Mountain View Road just outside McCaysville.
Hatcher said last week he has not been told a specific court date, only it would be some time in February.
Hatcher urges anyone who spots illegal littering or dumping in Polk County to call his office at 423-338-4527.