OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy came across a large illegal dump site in Laurel Hill.

The site off Buck Tyner Rd is filled with old mattresses, furniture, and smaller trash. Keep Okaloosa Beautiful is working with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Public Works Department to clear the area on March 10.

CLEAN-UP DETAILS:

• Friday, March 10, 2023
• 8 a.m. call for volunteers
• Gloves and grabbers will be provided
• Volunteers should bring water, wear boots and long pants for protection

The area is about half a mile long on Buck Tyner Rd near Millside Rd. The trash goes into the wooded areas off the roadway.

Keep Okaloosa Beautiful said they will have heavy equipment to remove the larger items, and need 10 to 20 people to help remove the rest.

“We will be out there around 6:00 with heavy equipment,” said Keep Okaloosa Beautiful Executive Director Kali Hiemier. “That should take about two hours and then we can get the rest with volunteers.”

Once the area is cleared, Hiemier said they want to focus on educating residents in the area to prevent this in the future.

“We really want to educate people so they have another option,” said Hiemier. “The people in Crestview and Laurel Hill don’t have the same means for information as other parts of the county. They don’t know that you can take a truckload of things to the landfill for just $6. So we are working with the road department and the sheriff’s department about possibly putting up signs that also include landfill information and prices so people think twice.”

To volunteer for the Laurel Hill clean up or more Keep Okaloosa Beautiful events in the future, contact Hiemier at khiemier@myokaloosa.com or call her at (850)398-2383.

“We want to start projects in the Crestview area,” said Hiemier. ” If anyone has ideas or things they want to see done, let me know and we will work on making things happen.”