A once notorious “junkyard,” which cost Milam County $300,000 to clean up is apparently headed for the auction block.
County Judge Steve Young said the former Richie Thrasher property—1300 and 1328 East Cameron—is in the final stages of cleanup.
“Workers have broken up the remaining large blocks of concrete for removal,” he said. “They have also taken down the fences.”
Young said the property will be sold at auction at a later date.
“We actually have had several calls from people interested in buying the property,” he said. “But we have to sell it at auction.”
Young said “a little more legal work” must also be done before the property goes to auction.
PAYBACK—Young said money raised from the sale of the property will go to Milam County to help alleviate the cost of cleanup.
The Milam County Sheriff’s Department seized the property Nov. 8, 2019, five days before the auction of items.
The then-owner was charged with bond forfeiture for bail jumping/failure to appear and illegal dumping.
It was the third time for Thrasher to be arrested in connection with the property which had been legally declared a “junkyard” in court action.
HISTORY—Both the City of Rockdale and Milam County had been attempting to get the property cleaned up, noting it is located on the major highway through town and presented an eyesore not only to town residents but to traffic passing through.
The legal battle lasted more than a year and a half.
In March, 2018, Thrasher was found guilty in Rockdale
Municipal Court on six counts of keeping a junkyard within 1,000 feet of a highway and was assessed the first in a series of fines.
There were repeated attempts at forcing a property cleanup by the city and county, including a 30-day deadline to begin cleanup, a deadline which was not met.
In June of 2019, Thrasher was indicted by a Milam County Grand Jury for bail jumping/failure to appear after missing a court date and was arrested.
In September, after missing another court date, he was indicted again on the same charge and was again arrested and he was fined $62,000.
PUBLIC—The November auction was the first public viewing of the property since the saga started.
Buyers had 30 days to remove items, before final cleanup began.
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