A group of county residents offer feedback at Friday's sanitation budget public hearing. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

Since reverting back to the former 24-hour convenience of several Graham County sanitation centers, early-morning sights like this one March 11 at the Bear Creek location have become more commonplace.

Graham County was without all eight of its sanitation sites for roughly three weeks, but it appears that the absence of convenience did little to teach those who are largely responsible for the original closures – as evident from this snapshot taken at the Snowbird site on the morning of Feb. 5.

Public outcry about the county’s decision to shut down all but three sanitation sites led to a crowd of roughly 40 residents lining the community room for Tuesday’s meeting. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

Constant vandalism and a blatant disregard for stipulations that items such as this insulation-filled bundle of debris – left at the Bear Creek convenience site Oct. 4 – need to instead be dumped at the county’s sanitation center, has propelled the department and commissioners alike to take necessary action.

Thanks to a grant, the Graham County Sanitation Department has received two new Kenworth’s to haul garbage to the current dump site in Ball Ground, Ga. Photo by Ruby Annas/news@grahamstar.com