Permanent injunctions issued for ‘junkyard’

County authorities continue to ratchet up the pressure for a cleanup at an East Cameron Avenue (US 79) property which has been declared a “junkyard” in court action.

Permanent injunctions prohibiting the removal of any items from the location, 1300 and 1328 East Cameron, have been issued during the past week against two men.

One is Ira Richard “Richie” Thrasher, property owner, and the other is William Hairston, upon whose property the county alleges materials have moved from the East Cameron location.

Temporary injunctions against the two men were granted last month. Actions within the past week made them permanent.

ACTION—Condition of the property has been a longtime saga as the City of Rockdale and Milam County have attempted to get the owner to clean it up.

Last year Thrasher was found guilty in Rockdale Municipal Court on six charges of maintaining a junkyard..

On March 19, Thrasher was found guilty in a bench trial in Rockdale Municipal Court of 13 more cases of the same offense and was fined $43,400, with other costs bringing the total to $47,612.

Thrasher has been arrested twice and served jail time. In June he was indicted by a Milam County Grand Jury for bail jumping/failure to appear.

Milam County, which is assisting the City of Rockdale in the legal efforts, has maintained items were being removed from the property and taken to a location on County Road 323.

That led to the injunction against Hairston.

WITNESS—County Judge Steve Young said at the July hearing for the temporary injunction that Barbara Holly, City of Rock-dale Development Services Director, gave testimony that she had witnessed removal of various items.

The county had intended to dispose of the litter on the property and assess costs against the owner.

In April assistant DA Kyle Nuttall said the county had authority to take out a lien on the property, then call for bids. Officials for the City of Rockdale have expressed concern over the cost of such a large-scale cleanup and concerns over being reimbursed.