Authorities with the Missouri Department of Conservation are seeking information on who may have left several loads of shingles at a conservation area.
Terry Cook, a forester with the DOC, said he found one load of shingles at the Allen Bridge fishing access, located east of Neosho in the Keeling Flats area, a week ago Monday, Nov. 9. The following Thursday, he said, several other loads of shingles were discovered there as well.
“We’ll end up renting a big Dumpster and getting a front-end loader to haul the debris into the Dumpster,” he said. “Any big rain, can wash shingles and debris into the creek. We hope to get it cleaned up before that happens.”
Cook said the department is keeping an eye on weather forecasts. In the event of a forecast for heavy rains, the department will expedite the cleanup process. Currently, a decision could be made as soon as Friday afternoon when to clean up the material.
Cook said the department has had a rash of vandalism incidents at conservation areas in the past month. On Nov. 10, vandals set fire to a stack of kindling in a picnic area set aside for veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars at the Lime Kiln public access area, also destroying a nearby adopt-a-highway sign which stated the veterans cleaned up that stretch of roadway. A picnic table in the veterans area was scrawled with graffiti, which the veterans have since painted over, Cook said. And barricades at a public access in Tipton Ford were recently destroyed.
Cook said the mess at Allen Bridge hasn’t been cleaned up yet to allow Jarid Wilkinson, Newton County conservation agent, to develop leads in the case before cleaning up the mess.
Wilkinson said he is seeking information on who dumped the material, and would like to interview homeowners who recently had roofing work done and could possibly recognize the shingles.
“Information on possibly who it was or where it came from would be especially good info,” Wilkinson said. “We want to track down and talk to homeowners who’ve had roofing done to see who did the job.”
Cook said it’s likely the debris came from at least two different roofing jobs, as packaging from different types and colors of shingles were found. However, he said, there were no other papers found in the debris to indicate where the materials may have come from.
“What’s bad is it’s the area where people pull off from the road and park, and it is now full of nails,” Cook said.
If you have information, please call Wilkinson at (417) 291-7819 or the local Missouri Department of Conservation office at 451-4158.
