If you live outside Greenwood’s city limits in Leflore County and believe someone nearby is creating a nuisance by burning materials in the open, you have recourse by contacting the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the county.
The Board of Supervisors on Monday assigned the duty of witnessing alleged nuisance fires to Bobby Norwood, the county’s fire coordinator, and Fred Randle, emergency management coordinator.
That’s at the request of an official from the state Department of Environmental Quality, who told Joyce Chiles, board attorney, that anyone who believes burning debris is creating a nuisance may submit a complaint to DEQ and the department will conduct an investigation.
But validation from a witness is needed, Chiles said she was told.
The key is state law concerning DEQ about what creates a nuisance. Burning itself is permitted in rural areas. “We do not have a local statute. We do not have a state statute,” Chiles said.
District 2 Supervisor Reginald Moore suggested that the county first write a letter of warning to whoever is being accused of creating a nuisance, but the rest of the board didn’t agree with the idea.
The issue came up during a meeting a week ago when Joann Brownlow, who lives on Virden Avenue, sought the board’s help in resolving issues she has with burning debris in her neighborhood and along Humphrey Highway.
Brownlow told the board Monday, “It’s not just my neighbor. Everybody around there’s burning. ... That smoke is killing me.”
Leo Murphree, who owns agricultural land in the area, reported that Brownlow took issue in the past when he burned a house and three 85-foot pine trees on his place. He warned the board not to let itself “be manipulated.”
In other business, the board voted 3-2 to approve giving raises to seven members of the road unit system. Manager Jerry Smith had been asked by the supervisors to provide the names of employees with outstanding skills and attitudes.
District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham voted no, and District 3 Supervisor Anjuan Brown abstained.
Abraham and Brown suggested that it would be better to develop a system of salary minimums with options for raises for all county employees.
The problem is that pay in the unit system is lower than what some employees can earn elsewhere, and the county is losing good workers because of this, Smith said. Or, the county can’t attract them. “They are not going to quit an $18-an-hour job to come for $10 or $11,” he said.
The board met in closed session for less than hour to discuss personnel and a contract for the collection of garbage fees. No action was taken, said District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self, board president.
•Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7233 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that the Leflore County Board of Supervisors did not take action Monday on raises for seven employees of the road unit system.
