Alonzo Lewis II would like to develop a two-acre patch of land he owns just south of Sidon, along School Street, into a restaurant and an outdoor space catered for tourists and local residents.
One major obstacle to his plans, though, is a pile of trash and animal carcasses that’s littered just a few yards away from his property on School Street.
“It stinks,” Lewis, a Greenwood native who now resides in Carroll County, said Tuesday during a visit of his property.
He purchased the land, which is along the banks of the Yazoo River, about six months ago.
He hopes to establish a restaurant along with some treehouses and a pier to fish and have them up and running by October 2023.
Lewis said the Sheriff’s Department told him that the issue of dumping trash and other debris just down the road has been an ongoing problem for at least two years, even though there are two signs warning people not to dump.
In addition to food wrappers and tires, people also dump the carcasses of deer and wild hogs, Lewis said.
The rotting flesh not only creates a foul stench but also lures stray dogs that eat the carcasses and sometimes bring the bones from the remains onto Lewis’ property. He said the dogs are aggressive, and he’s worried that they may bite people.
Lewis spoke to the Leflore County Board of Supervisors about this issue when the board met Monday.
Jerry Smith, the county’s road unit manager, said illegal dumping on the side of School Street has been a longtime problem.
The trash is cleaned up only for the side of the road to be littered the next weekend, he said.
District 5 Supervisor Robert Collins, whose district includes the area where Lewis owns land, said at the meeting that the installation of cameras in the area could help deter would-be litterers.
The county and the city of Greenwood are also working together to establish a Leflore County affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, a national beautification organization, to address litter throughout the county.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
