Philadelphia man arrested for illegally dumping scrap wood

A Philadelphia man has been charged with littering after he was caught and admitted to dumping scrap wood on the side of the road.

The man, Keewan Burnside, 23, 1066 Frog Level Road, was arrested and charged with littering.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said his office was made aware of the individual who had taken a load of scrap wood and dumped it on the edge of Road 610 in a ditch early on the morning of Monday, March 25. 

“Witnesses gathered information on the suspect by taking pictures of the truck, suspect, and tag number,” Clark said. “Thank you to the witnesses who provided information that led to the arrest of this litterbug.”

Later that day after lunchtime, Clark said deputies made contact with the suspected vehicle in town where he had another load of wood that he was headed to dump. 

“The driver admitted to the dumping,” Clark said.

The driver was taken to the Neshoba County Jail and charged with the alleged dumping of the materials. 

According to Clark, Burnside also agreed to, once being released, go back to the dump site to remove what he had dumped. 

“We are taking the littering and illegal dumping problem seriously in Neshoba County and are using all measures possible to charge and convict all who decide to trash our county,” Clark said.

Clark said Burnside returned to the site that afternoon and removed the dumped materials.

This incident comes on the heels of a litter campaign Clark announced earlier this month. 

Through his litter campaign video posted on social media on March 11, Clark said he plans to not only raise awareness over the issue but also deter littering through the enforcement of misdemeanor violations.

Enforcing stricter penalties for littering, including citations for debris unintentionally flying out of vehicles and seeking maximum fines for each offense is part of the Sheriff's strategy to curb the chronic litter problem in Neshoba County. 

To strengthen the campaign's impact, Clark is actively pursuing grants to fund educational literature for the schools. He also plans to involve school resource officers in spreading awareness to students.

Clark said common culprits like discarded food containers from fast-food meals are a lot of the problem and he wants to stress the importance of educating the community about the consequences of littering and the impact it has on the environment.