Bogalusa ‘junk’ yards rile some citizens

Fate Ferrell and others have complained about it in the past, and this week Mary Distefano added her voice to those who have asked the Bogalusa City Council to do what it can to get residents to keep their properties from looking like junk yards.

The council is a legislative body and cannot direct city workers, but members have vowed support and some entered into the conversation this week.

Distefano said she lives on Union Avenue and is tired of seeing overgrown yards and ditches filled with trash.

“It is ridiculous for our town to look like a dump,” she said. “We’ve got all kinds of junk in yards.”

The trash even includes rusty old cars and appliances, said Distefano.

She asked whose job it is to get people to keep their properties clean.

Rodney McGehee is in charge of code enforcement in Bogalusa, and the proper procedure includes contact and citation before the city can take action. The first step is reporting the problem. McGehee can be contacted at 732-6213.

Councilman Paul Penton said he’s ready to get something done. He arranged to meet with the administration’s Larry Miller to develop a request for the U.S. Army National Guard to come in and “help clean up some of this blight.” He also suggested enlisting volunteer assistance.

The National Guard has previously been mentioned as a possible partner in the demolition of the growing number of condemned houses throughout Bogalusa. The city currently does not have the equipment to tear the buildings down and can only burn those that are far from other structures and power lines.

Distefano said she believes the trash clean up should be up to the residents involved.

“I think it’s the responsibility of the people who live there or the owners,” she said.

Distefano said she just wants somebody to make sure everybody does their part to keep, or make, Bogalusa beautiful.