Illegal dumping on 'uptick' in county

PORTALES — They say one person’s trash is another's treasure. However, for Roosevelt County lately the trash is more like a hassle, a health threat and an environmental hazard.

That’s the message this week from the county’s Board of Commissioners, sheriff and Road Department, which asked the public in a news release for help in curbing the recent rise in illegal dumping.

“We started noticing the uptick here in the spring months,” said County Manager Amber Hamilton. “I think sometimes people either don’t look at littering as a crime, or they see it as such a low-end crime. For me, I sit here and look at the serious environmental concerns and the threats to our natural resources that it can pose.”

A low-end crime though it may be, county leaders have made it clear it’s one they will not abide.

CrimeStoppers offers up to $500 “for information leading to charges and the conviction of any person dumping illegally in the County or City,” said the release, which Hamilton said has already seen results.

“I can tell you since this press release was issued there have been two criminal summons issued for dumping in the county as a direct result of deputies investigating the dump sites,” she said Thursday. “I’m told by the commissioners that have been on the board before that this has been a problem in the past, and one of the main ways to combat this is by raising local awareness.”

Mattresses and other furniture, syringes and other medical waste, tires and more tires — these were some items Hamilton highlighted in painting a picture of the issue.

“Tires are definitely a problem throughout the entire county,” she said. “We’re working on a grant to try to find creative ways to dispose of tires.”

The release also recommends using the Convenience Center run by the city of Portales, which is open seven days a week. It’s “very accessible to all county residents and very affordable,” Hamilton said.

A particular problem location Hamilton noted was a strip near the intersection of South Roosevelt Roads T and 3, but county administration “plans to begin mapping and actively tracking illegal dump sites” and welcome reports of such at 575-356-5307.