ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- St. Landry Parish officials are taking action to address the persistent issue of littering across the parish, implementing new laws to enforce citations for those responsible.

Parish President Jessie Bellard expressed frustration over the ongoing litter problem, noting instances where people have torn down houses and left debris by the roadside. To combat this, the parish has established an administrative court to handle civil citations related to littering.

"We passed a law last Wednesday to have an administrative court in our parish," Bellard said. "The law allows us to have a hearing officer. So those civil citations will be given, you got to come to court, and you have to pay."

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office is also involved in the enforcement efforts, with the St. Landry Crime Stoppers Board approving cash rewards for tips that lead to citations or arrests for littering.

Mark Leblanc from the Sheriff's Office emphasized the role of Crime Stoppers in encouraging community involvement to tackle the litter issue.

Richard LeBoeuf from St. Landry Parish Solid Waste reminded residents that trash pickup, including large debris and solid waste, is funded by sales taxes. Residents can arrange for pickup by contacting the landfill.

"The sales tax pays for the landfill, pays for the trash pick-up, pays for the bulky waste pick up," LeBoeuf explained. "It's a service that's afforded to all of our residents."

St. Landry Parish is focusing on strict enforcement measures to tackle the littering problem, with new laws allowing for civil citations and the involvement of the Sheriff's Office and Crime Stoppers to support these efforts.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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