New signs on Philadelphia Road between Highway 515 and Talking Rock Highway warn motorists that the area, one of the most frequently littered in the county, is under surveillance. Pickens County Marshal Jim Harvey wants to remind residents that littering can carry a hefty fine, and that “I don’t issue warnings, I issue citations.” The sign cautions of the maximum penalty for littering – a $5,000 fine or five years’ jail time or both. Citations can be issued for littering or illegal dumping. Harvey will even go so far as to look through trash in larger dump sites to find identifying pieces of information and track down litterers.
Keep Pickens Beautiful President Carol Opdenhoff has said that portion of Philadelphia Road is one of the worst in the county for litter, with the suspicious that people pick up food at one of the nearby fast food restaurants and dump it there because there are no houses on that stretch – just cows.
Harvey said the county has surveillance cameras they rotate to keep certain trouble spots under watch.