Justin Johnson, who identified himself as the Abernathy fire chief, told the Cleburne County Commission work session that repeated incidents of household trash burning are taxing emergency and environmental services and diminishing neighborhood air quality. "It's just smoking up the neighborhood," Johnson said, describing 911 calls that do not rise to emergencies but consume staff time and provoke community complaints.

Johnson and commissioners discussed gaps in enforcement when residents do not have active trash service or live in unregistered mobile homes. County staff said current practice is to email a report and check the active-customer list; if service is not active, the county issues a citation for failure to maintain garbage service rather than for the burn itself. "When you go to the house and they're burning the garbage, you turn around and you send Ginny an email saying, I was at this address and there was burning garbage," a staff member explained.

Commissioners asked staff to improve reporting pathways and public communication. Several suggested adding an email/photo-report link to the county's planned new website so residents or staff can submit images; a commissioner said the county could post a clear explanation of what is and is not allowed and the penalties for noncompliance. "We can email Miss Merle with the picture," an official said during the discussion.

The group also discussed convenience-center rules that restrict access to residents with active service. Commissioners noted that some households without service or living in unregistered units lack practical disposal options. Staff said that, when appropriate, citations for lack of service are issued to the property owner and that the commission should review whether additional outreach or a temporary disposal option is needed for households in transition.

The commission directed staff to compile a short plan outlining: (1) an email/photo reporting procedure, (2) possible website links or a form to centralize reports, and (3) outreach language to remind residents about required trash service and convenience-center rules. Next steps include assigning a contact and providing sample messaging for the new county website.