City officials in Forest are fed up with chasing stray dogs, chasing blowing trash and litter, and chasing those stray dogs digging in the blowing trash and litter, and according to Mayor Nancy Chambers it is about to come to an end.
“We’ve got two things, litter and dogs and both are out of control,” Chambers said last week. “It is not the garbage man’s job to pick up the garbage that has been scattered around by loose dogs.”
Chambers said that the city’s dog ordinance requires all pet owners take responsibility for their pets. “There is a dog ordinance,” the mayor said, “and if the dog isn’t behind a fence or on a chain it is illegal. The city is about to come down hard on litter and stray dogs. If you are going to have an animal it needs to be taken care of.”
Forest City Ordinance 454, which regulates the keeping of animals within the city limits, states that “any animal shall be deemed to be at large when it is not on a leash, behind a fence or enclosure, or including buried wire/electronic shock collar containment or under the control of a competent person...It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to permit it to run at large within the corporate limits of the city.”
The ordinance further states:
• Any person violating any provision of this ordinance, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, may be punished by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than one thousand dollars $1,000 or by imprisonment in jail not to exceed 90 days, or by both fine and imprisonment. If any violation be continuing, each day’s violation may be deemed a separate offense.
• Upon a second conviction of a violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance, the offender may be punished by a fine of not less than $50 and not more than one $1000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
• Upon the third or subsequent conviction of a violation of any of the provisions of this Ordinance, the offender may be punished by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
When it comes to litter in the city, the mayor said people should be ashamed of themselves. “People should want to take care of their own little corner of the world,” Chambers said.
Chambers said that the city shouldn’t have to pay for someone to pick up other people’s litter and that the city is also having difficulty keeping employees picking up trash off the streets due to the workers being chased by stray dogs. It is a compounded problem she said.
Ordinance 445 regulating garbage within the city limits requires a combination of garbage bags and garbage cans “for disposal of residential garbage and rubbish.”
It also reads that “building debris such as scrap lumber, plaster, roofing, concrete, bricks, and sand and dust resulting from the construction, repair, remodeling or demolition of any building on private property will not be removed and the owner must cause such materials and waste be privately removed.”
The mayor said that much like the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Adopt A Highway program, residents of Forest should to commit to adopting their neighborhoods.
“People should get outside, get some exercise, and pick up the trash in their neighborhoods. In these COVID times this would be a great way to get some fresh air and exercise,” Chambers said. “Get outside with a garbage bag and a pick-up stick and get some exercise.”
