Trash talks continue Tuesday

On Tuesday the Jennings City Council will be deciding the fate of a new rule that would require residents here to bring in their waste containers within 24 hours of their pickup day.

Jennings Mayor Henry Guinn said that without rules in place, the city can only ask that the waste containers be removed from city property, which typically includes the median from the street to the sidewalk.

“This is a very simple ordinance,” he said. “We need a rule in place so that we can keep our roadways safe and passable and ensure our neighborhoods have a clean and orderly appearance.”

At last month’s meeting, a resident addressed the council saying she felt that the city’s garbage ordinance overall was too relaxed and that she has researched other parishes who have more stringent policies.

However, Guinn said there has still been some opposition to the ordinance by those who view it as an unnecessary intrusion by the government onto the property of citizens.

“Many are saying that we do not have a problem, but if you drive around on any given day, you will see that there are many residents who just leave their cans at the street all week,” Guinn said. “I’ve even seen containers lying in ditches, which causes problems for drainage for the entire neighborhood. This isn’t just about appearance, but also the safe travel of our streets.”

The Jennings Daily News did an investigation of our own on how many waste containers are left out 24 hours after the pickup time, along with any damaged containers or those that might be blocking roadways. We canvassed all five pickup routes and found that 134 containers on 42 streets in the city were observed to be left out several days after their scheduled pickup, including 30 containers that were in the roadway blocking traffic or found damaged.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 5, we canvassed the area included in the Monday pickup route.

There were 50 waste containers observed in the streets or on the city median two days after the Monday, Sept. 3 pickup date.

A three-block section of Jefferson Street had 10 waste containers still out from the Monday pickup, including one that was turned over in a ditch and blocking water from draining, and two containers blocking the roadway across from a school.

West Division street had nine waste containers left out for longer than 24 hours, including two that were laying on their side in the roadway.

Almost half of the residences on Cathy lane had their waste containers out near the roadway with seven containers observed.

Five waste containers were observed on McKinley Street including one turned over in the roadway.

Four containers were left out on Cecile and North Craig streets, and three containers were observed on Shriever Street.

Two containers were observed on West Clara, Merry and Howard streets, including one container in the roadway on Howard Street. Also, one waste container each was observed still out at the street on West Acadia Street and one container observed on Down Street.

On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 6, we canvassed the area included in the Tuesday pickup route.

There were 31 waste containers observed in the streets or on the city median two days after the Tuesday, Sept. 4 pickup date.

Twelve containers were observed left out on Doyle Street, including two in the street and two that were significantly damaged.

On Garage Alley, seven cans were observed including one blocking a narrow part of the street.

Penny Street had six waste containers still out from Tuesday’s pickup, including one next to a large pile trash that spilled out onto the street.

South Street and Spencer Street had two waste containers out in the rightof-way including one in the roadway on South Street.

Andrew Street, which is across from a school, had two containers left out since the Tuesday pickup date, and South Main Street had one waste container still out on the street.

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 7, we canvassed the area included in the Wednesday route. There were 26 waste containers observed in the streets or on the city median two days after the Wednesday, Sept. 5 pickup date.

There were four containers left out, including three that were on the street on West Madison Street. There were also four containers left out on Orange Street

East Willis, Winnie, and Louise streets all had three containers each out at the curb two days after the scheduled pickup day. Seagraves Street also had three containers left out including one that was several feet out in the street in front of a traffic sign.

Two waste containers were observed in the street on West Street as well as on Allen Street. Morton and East Division Streets each had one container each on the right-of-way near the curb.

On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 4, we canvassed the area included in the Thursday route.

There were 12 waste containers observed in the streets or on the city median nearly a week after the Thursday, Aug. 30 pickup date.

There were four containers left out on a three-block section of Fourth Street.

East Academy had two containers still out, and May Street had two that were left out and missing their lids.

A search of Isabelle Street revealed two containers were left out, with on lying halfway in the roadway.

One container each were observed on Morton Street and on East Nezpique Street.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 5, we canvased the area included in the Friday route.

There were 15 waste containers observed in the streets or on the city median five days after the Friday, Aug. 31 pickup date.

On East Division, there four cans left out at the street in view of the Jeff Davis Parish Courthouse and the School Board Office.

Third Street, Sixth Street, North Avenue, Johnson Street and Williams Street all had two containers still out five days after the scheduled pickup date.

One damaged container was observed left out on the right-of-way on North State Street.

The proposed ordinance will be discussed and voted on at the council’s regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 11. If the ordinance passes in it’s current form, residents will be required to move their trash cans from the street within 24-hours of pickup time or receive two written warnings before facing a $25 fine.

“The ordinance was created to enhance both the safety and enjoyment of it’s citizens use of streets,” Guinn said “We need to come together and take pride in our community, keeping our historic streets safe and appealing, as well as property values up for our neighbors. If the ordinance does not pass, we are going to continue to work on this until we can come to a solution. This a conversation that we need to have as a community.”