Letter to the editor: We need enforcement, long-range solutions to Sumter's deplorable litter situation

I am a longtime resident of Sumter County, and for years it has bothered me about how much trash is thrown on our streets and on our roadways. I invite you to take a look at Mooneyham, Commander, Boulevard and St. Matthew Church roads in Sumter County, just to name a few.

I, once more, am writing a letter which hopefully will garner the attention of policy makers in the city and county who are elected and responsible to the people for upholding and creating laws that are designed to improve situations in the areas that they represent.

Recently, I was encouraged to see a letter on the opinion page of The Sumter Item that addressed litter and to see that both city and county councils plan to organize a litter advisory board in an effort to resolve the litter issue in the city and county. It is so encouraging to see that someone is beginning to pay attention to the trash problem in both Sumter and Sumter County. It is my hope that the advisory board's efforts will go beyond meetings, discussions and recommendations. Many citizens in Sumter and Sumter County are very concerned about the litter situation and want to see some action.

In the city and county, it is great to see that certain businesses go out of their way to keep their property clean and attractive, while others seem not to care and are able to get by with no consequences.

The debris and trash situation this letter addresses is a matter of having pride in one's surroundings. If everyone would clean up in front of and around his/her business and home, or on the roadway in front of where he or she lives, there would be surprising improvements. On the contrary, if there are no consequences for leaving trash, old TVs and other debris in front of residences or businesses, nothing will ever improve. This is where code enforcement and other elected officials could help. Yes, there are businesses that need to improve the cleanliness and debris around their property!

As I write this letter, I also wonder who is in charge of the recycling centers in the county. A quick look at just two of them would lead one to believe that no one from the county or anywhere else is in charge. I invite anyone to visit the one that is located on Rainaire Drive off U.S. 521 in Sumter County. Trash, garbage and debris are on the ground outside leading up to and around the center. Although I agree that it is absolutely unacceptable that this trash and garbage are put there by individuals who choose not to observe the hours of operations of the center but in the name of attractiveness and cleanliness, someone needs to pick up this trash every time the facility is open. At present, it remains on the ground for weeks at a time before it is removed.

The other recycling center that I will refer to is located on Alligator Road off U.S. 378. Sumter County should be embarrassed to allow that operation to continue to further degrade the image of the county. There is trash and debris on the ground all around the containers, and this has been the case for months. Again, who in the county is responsible for the upkeep of the recycling centers? When these centers first opened, they were clean and well-maintained, but now they are deplorable. The taxpayers of Sumter and Sumter County deserve more than this.

It was interesting to note that among the recent persons running for offices in the city and county, there was no one that included in his/her campaign platform the all-important need to have a strong ongoing program to address having a clean and inviting environment. In my opinion, this is equally as important as some of the other things that they promised to do if elected.

I often wonder where city and county officials take prospective businesses and others who might be considering relocating to the Sumter area for tours. These persons certainly would get an immediate negative impression if their tour included certain roads and other debris-filled areas in and around Sumter.

Recently, I talked with a codes enforcement officer for the City of Sumter and told him that I had noticed two discarded mattresses in the downtown area of Sumter, corner of Bartlette and South Main streets, in eyeshot of Central Carolina Technical College's School of Nursing and the new city water department, that had not been moved in more than 11 months. I asked how could they not be noticed for so long. He did not have an answer but said that he would look into it.

All citizens, elected or not, could play a large part in improving how others who might have never been to the Sumter area perceive or judge us.

I implore the mayor, city council, county council, the sheriff, judges and others who make laws and enforce them to take a more serious approach to trash and debris in and around Sumter.

For starters, they could begin by inviting businesses to improve their images by keeping paper and other debris picked up on a regular basis. Those businesses who adhered to this standard could be recognized in some kind of way by the city and county.

It is my firm belief that we can do better at keeping our city and county clean. One reason why this has not happened is that no one has tackled this problem with long-range goals and objectives in mind. There have been hit-and-miss efforts along the way, and as a result, our roadways, highways and certain city businesses have drawn an image of us that is not pretty or inviting. We can give Sumter a cleaner image! We must be better than these eyesores that are all over the city and county!

K. D. SINGLETON

Sumter