Deputies put dent in littering around river

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Refrigerators, washers, dryers, couches, mattresses, stoves, hammers, nails, groceries, ice boxes, satellite antennas, kitchen sinks and carpets.

A one-stop shoppers dream store?

Actually, it's the Black River.

Along the banks of the river on County Road 607, there is trash in the road, on both sides of the river and floating in the river. Some people bag their garbage before pitching it out of their cars.

Deputy Joe Sliger, who has specialized in illegal trash dumping in Butler County for 11 years, said he believes it's gotten a little better.

"Dumping is terrible for our county," said Sliger. "There has been a decrease in the dumping activity, though. We've made a dent in it."

Peter Markham, who lives on the county road, is fed up with the mess. According to Markham, most of the dumpers arrive in the middle of the night at least once a week. The area is littered by partiers on the weekends with Styrofoam, beer bottles and cans. He said that it wasn't too long ago someone dumped a whole truckload of car parts into the river. Just last week, a local cab driver pulled over the side of the road and threw a bag of trash out of his cab.

"People think it's a good place to dump," said Markham. "When the river water is down, you'll want to throw up. It's like a sewer."

Sliger said he knows who some of these dumpers are by going through each trash bag for evidence. He has found mail, car titles and prescription bottles that identify people.

"Under Missouri state law, if I find somebody's name and address in the trash, I can assume it belongs to them," he said.