Sumter County residents and council press for action on litter, poor rural roads

Sumter County officials and residents pressed County Council on Jan. 24 for stronger enforcement and dedicated funding to tackle widespread litter and hazardous rural roads.

Councilman Carlton B. Washington called attention to photographs of heavy dumping in District 1 and said the county must treat large‑scale litter as a basic service, not a voluntary cleanup. Washington said he will convene a Public Safety Committee meeting on Feb. 14 to develop specific directions and requested a funding line for trash cleanup. He added that enforcement alone was not enough and asked for both cleanup resources and publicity around prosecutions.

County Administrator Gary Mixon told council that Public Works Director Karen Hyatt had requested a Public Works Committee meeting on Feb. 14 to introduce Mike McCoy, the county's new litter officer, and that as of Jan. 23 two citizens had been charged with litter violations and faced reduced fines if they participated in cleanup. Mixon said McCoy had scheduled a follow‑up meeting with community volunteer Yvonne China.

During public comment, residents from Tamplico Road described deep ruts, potholes and conditions they say have damaged vehicles and impeded emergency and school vehicles. Daisy Bradley and Cassandra Lang said residents had spent personal funds to patch sections of the road and asked council for county intervention. Dr. Juanita Britton urged the council to resume work to pave and widen Highway 521 in the Rembert area, saying prior funding allocations had been redirected elsewhere.

Bill Lyons of American Legion Post 15 told council litter is a countywide issue and said he frequently sees trash blowing from trucks en route to disposal sites. Multiple commenters said periodic volunteer cleanups are not sufficient because trash is repeatedly dumped in the same locations.

Chairman James T. McCain and other council members agreed the problem is countywide. Washington announced a schedule of South Carolina Department of Transportation community meetings in February to address state roads before county follow‑ups on county roads.

The council did not adopt a new ordinance at the meeting; it approved agenda and minutes and scheduled the committee meetings described above. The county said two people have been charged for litter violations and that programmatic and enforcement proposals will return to committee for detailed plans.