ATHALIA – Scrap tires that once threatened Eastern Lawrence County with fire and health hazards now occupy space in a Kentucky landfill.

Sunday, August 12, 2001

ATHALIA – Scrap tires that once threatened Eastern Lawrence County with fire and health hazards now occupy space in a Kentucky landfill.

Crews with Cooksey Brothers removed the Athalia Tire Pile next to Ohio 7 and hauled the nuisance away Saturday as county officials watched. The company ran three trucks in order to have the tires out by that evening.

"Absolutely," said county commission president Paul Herrell, when asked if he was glad to see the tires leave Lawrence County.

"It’s been long overdue," he added. "There is no reason for these people (referring to the residents who live around the site) to put up with the tire pile as long as they had."

The commission awarded the removal contract at its meeting Thursday. Cooksey agreed to clean up the estimated 130-tons of tires for $85 per ton, and finish the job in one day.

Officials have estimated it cost Lawrence County, Rome Township Volunteer Fire Department and other agencies about $10,000 during each fire.

The approximate $11,000 cleanup cost will not only rid the county of an unattractive nuisance but save money in the long run, commissioners said.

It also will protect area health, considering stagnant water trapped in tires are often breeding grounds of disease-carrying mosquitoes.

"We are happy to be here under these circumstances," said Rome Township Volunteer Fire Department spokesperson Mike Boster, as opposed to times the department has spent at the site fighting fires.

Boster said the fire department has spent about 30 hours fighting fires and "about that many" hours in paperwork and cleaning equipment.

Money for the cleanup will come from a special Ohio Environmental Protection Agency "Tire Abatement Fund" of $14,000, which was set aside for Lawrence County from fines paid to the EPA. The EPA also granted the tire pile "solid waste" status, allowing for the burnt tires and tire residuals to be disposed of in a landfill.

In addition, the EPA has spent years on enforcement actions, attempting to get the tire pile removed.

Now, county commissioners have filed a lien on the property, currently owned by Brian Fancher, to recoup the money used from the county’s cleanup fund, Herrell said.

Rome Township trustees are in the process of filing a lien, and the Ohio EPA also has a lien against the property, officials said.

The county could use funds generated by its lien to put money back in the tire abatement fund for other projects.