COLUMBUS, Ind. — Stiffer penalties await Bartholomew County residents who don’t take swift action to rid their properties of animals with disease-carrying insects.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners have amended a Nov. 7, 1977, ordinance that pertains to health department efforts to clean up potential breeding grounds for rodents, certain birds, skunks, raccoons and opossums. Those animals are known to attract disease-carrying insects such as fleas, ticks, lice and mosquitoes.
Instead of what had been a one-time $200 fine for any person who interferes with cleanup efforts at breeding grounds, the amendment raises the penalty to as much as $500, county attorney Grant Tucker said. In addition, the amended ordinance now states that when orders to clean up a property are ignored, each day can be counted as a separate violation, he said.
Please read Thursday’s edition of The Republic for more details.
