DIXIE INN – The board of aldermen for the Village of Dixie Inn will meet Thursday to discuss trash collections after hearing about the closure of their current vendor J&J Disposal.
Calls to J&J Disposal Services have gone unanswered leaving customers with questions. Bruce Franklin/Press-Herald
Village Clerk Jane Rogers says they have not been officially been notified of the company’s closure; however, she says she went by Minden’s satellite office and the doors were closed and the gates were locked.
Trash pickup in Dixie Inn appears to have ceased with the closure of J&J Disposal. The board of aldermen will meet in a special session to discuss alternatives for trash pick up Thursday. Bruce Franklin/Press-Herald
“Until today (Tuesday) they have done their job,” she said. “I’ve tried to call them several times and I’ve gotten that recording that their mailbox is full. So, I can’t get through to them. At the advice of our attorney Paul Kitchens, we need to have a special session and vote to go out for bids.”
She says Kitchens recommended the village send a certified letter to J&J declaring their contract with them null and void.
“We’re going to go out for bids, but we will open the bidding at the March meeting,” she said.
Mayor Ava Nell McWhorter said residents need not worry about garbage disposal, that whatever happens with the current contract, the citizens’ garbage will be picked up.
“We will take care of it,” she assured. “Until we can decide what to do, we’re going to have to hire someone to come pick it up. We just want to do what’s best for our village and try to keep it clean and healthy.”
Village officials urge residents not to do anything with their cans right now, and that questions will be answered as best they can at the meeting.
McWhorter and Rogers say they have heard about the issues the Bossier Parish Police Jury has had with the company, and most recently about the company’s closure.
In a release, BPPJ announced J&J sent an email to the parish governing authority that they indeed were no longer in business and customers should obtain another waste service provider.
BPPJ offers on their website alternative companies residents can call to obtain service.
The Dixie Inn meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. at the municipal building, located at 60 Shell Street. The meeting is open to the public.