Gautier Mayor still working to reduce litter in the city - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

Gautier Mayor still working to reduce litter in the city

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GAUTIER, MS (WLOX) -

Gautier's Mayor Tommy Fortenberry waged a war against litter last year after seeing discarded trash all around town. The mayor and some folks in the city said Gautier is cleaning up its act. 

Tara Hurd owns Edible Bouquets and the last thing she wants to see outside her door is litter. 

"We have put recycling bins out here, so we can try to keep the trash cleaned up. We also work together here at Baywood Commons Plaza to keep the area clean," said Hurd. 

Police officer Diane Schmid said she's pleased at how far Gautier has come. 

"There were some areas of concern, and I went back through and saw that they have cleaned up quite a bit," said officer Schmid. "I was actually very impressed." 

That is good news to Mayor Tommy Fortenberry who has worked since last year to reduce litter city-wide.  

"We have a man and his wife that walks up and down the road all the time to pick up litter. It is just people showing more pride in their city," said Fortenberry. 

Fortenberry also credits Gautier police for helping catch litter bugs. 

"If we do catch them, naturally we will issue them a citation. I do know one of our captains issued one a couple of weeks ago," Schmid said. 

But the mayor admits there are still problem spots.  

"Gautier has a landfill in the city and a lot of the moms-and-pops with the trailers behind them bring things to the landfill and it blows out the back of the truck. I was speaking to the chief of police today, and he is sending out a memo that if they don't have the trailer and truck topped then they will be pulled over," Fortenberry explained. 

The mayor said an area in the heart of the city near Highway 90 also needs more work.

"These cups and these plastic bags and things like that they just sit them down when they are finished drinking, and the wind blows it into this ditch and that leaves this as a much cluttered area," Mayor Forterneberry said. 

The mayor said the ultimate goal is to form a community-wide group that can pick-up litter around town once a month to keep trash off the streets and Gautier beautiful. 

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