Woman says area around her home has become trash dump

Cherokee County resident Mary Ellen Cobb points to clothes and other items lying near her property line. Cobb said she has called county employees to her home hoping to solve the problem, but little has been done to settle the issue. Cherokee County resident Mary Ellen Cobb thought a life of peace and quiet was in store for her and her husband when they moved to 4th St. a few months ago.

However, Cobb now finds herself at odds with neighbors and county officials over what she says is the deterioration of the residential area.

"No one seems to care, and I don't think it's fair," Cobb said. "This makes totally no sense. The area around my house is not a trash dump."

For much of her time on 4th St., Cobb has fought to clean up the area around her property, which sits close to a drainage ditch and railroad track. While she is used to the train blowing past her house on a regular basis, Cobb claims the trackside area beside her home is a frequent access route for some and a nighttime residence for others.

"Visitors throw away trash that winds up on the railroad track and eventually in my yard," Cobb said. "But the worst part is people come here after dark and sit in the woods doing whatever. It is getting to the point that I don't feel safe."

Clothes and empty beer bottles are among the items lying within feet of her property line. Cobb said she has called county employees to her home hoping to solve the problem, but little has been done to settle the issue.

"In my opinion, it seems like they are passing the buck," Cobb said. "Something has to be done... there has to be someone we can call or someone who can do something about this."

Cherokee County Code Enforcement official Wayne Elder has been the recipient of many of Cobb's phone calls. Elder said his office has received numerous calls from her about various issues, the majority of which he believes are "unjustifiable."

"We have taken complaints about 30 to 40 different things, so I have made visits to the property to see if there is anything we can do," Elder said. "But I estimate 99 percent of her complaints were about things that couldn't be justified or there was nothing we could do to help her."