NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County officials are trying to ensure residents know where they can dispose large household items that city and county garbage collectors won’t pick up at residences.
There are two county waste-disposal “convenience stations” where people can junk their bulky residential trash, such as furniture and appliances. They can also take such garbage to the private landfill in nearby Jefferson County on U.S. 61 that Natchez and Adams County have contracted to accept residents’ trash free of charge.
Large household debris illegally discarded in bayous or ravines continues to litter Adams County, said county board attorney Scott Slover. “It’s just an ongoing problem,” he said, noting more efforts are needed to better inform area residents they should use the disposal stations “as opposed to dumping (the debris) on the road.”
Below are the two county waste sites’ locations and when they’re open (as posted on Adams County’s website):
511-A Upper Kingston Rd
Open 12pm – 7pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
Open 7am – 7pm on Saturday
Closed Thursday and Sunday
228 Foster Mound Rd
Open 8am – 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
Closed Friday and Sunday
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The county board is requesting details on how much it’ll cost to move Natchez-Adams County’s E911 emergency-dispatching operations to another building. E911dispatchers and equipment are currently housed in the basement of the Adams County Jail, which has been riddled with structural problems and poor working conditions.
The expenses of a move and occupancy of a building not yet specified would be shared with the city if Natchez aldermen agree to continue the consolidated E911 system with the county.
The county Board of Supervisors last month approved a $1-a-month increase in the E911 tax levied on phone bills to help fund Adams County’s emergency services. It costs about $660,000 a year to operate the local E911 service, with Adams County and Natchez evenly sharing the expenses. The emergency-dispatching system takes phone calls from people in need of police, fire and ambulance services.
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The agent handling Adams County government employees’ health insurance said he’s hopeful an agreement will be reached between Blue Cross & Blue Shield and the University of Mississippi in a dispute that has patients facing huge medical costs at the state’s only Level 1 trauma-care hospital.
Fred Parker said he and other insurance agents are “shocked this has gone this far.” Blue Cross dropped the University of Mississippi Medical Center from its network of hospitals the insurer pays for treating patients it covers.
The contract between UMMC and Blue Cross ended April 1 after the two sides failed to reach agreement over how much the insurer would pay for patient care.
“Hopefully, this will be resolved rather quickly,” Parker told the Adams County Board of Supervisors on Monday.
Thousands of patients needing specialty care only offered in Mississippi by UMCC will pay higher costs because they’re no longer in the Blue Cross network, according to the Jackson-based medical center.
Blue Cross and UMMC officials have been haggling since last year over how to renew their contract. UMMC is asking to be paid more for its services closer to what’s given to academic hospitals in nearby states. Blue Cross insists that’s too much money.
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