Residents urge Anniston to become ‘Roundup‑free’ community over health concerns

A resident urged the Anniston City Council on May 6, 2025, to declare the city a “Roundup‑free community,” citing health concerns and settlements by the maker of glyphosate‑based herbicides.

Joseph Euntiy, who identified himself during the meeting as a resident whose home faces Tyler Park, said he sees landscape crews frequently using Roundup and proposed a nonbinding proclamation asking the city to avoid the herbicide. “We could be a Roundup free community and be good advertising,” Euntiy said during public comment, adding that Monsanto had settled large lawsuits and that area residents still experience health and pollution issues.

Another commenter, who did not give her name, said her husband died four years ago and she was convinced Roundup caused his illness; she said she would not allow Roundup in her yard and asked what alternatives exist. The transcript records a brief exchange noting that using a weed eater is one possible alternative mentioned during public comment.

The public comment occurred after a closed public hearing on a special‑events retailer application for Grace Episcopal Church (doing business as “Jambalaya in Jazz”), which drew no speakers and was closed. The council did not take policy action on pesticide use; the remarks were recorded as public comment and no motion or staff direction on herbicide policy appears in the public record of the meeting.