Oh deer! State stops paying to pick up carcasses on local roads

Beware of dumped drums

It’s not a common problem, and it doesn’t happen repeatedly in one particular place – but now and then, the Columbia County Highway Department gets a report of a drum of chemicals dumped in the right-of-way of rural roads.

At Monday’s semi-annual meeting with town, village and city officials, Highway Commissioner Chris Hardy asked people to call the highway department whenever they see a drum of unknown substances dumped along a road.

Hardy said there’s usually no way to determine who dumped the substances, or whether the perpetrator is a local or out-of-county person.

But every container of dumped chemicals, he said, costs the county $650, to test the contents and safely dispose of them. Even if the container is labeled, it can’t be assumed that the label accurately reflects the container’s contents.

“I just want you to know this is out there,” Hardy said.