A Marion County sheriff's detective on patrol has been targeting a slow-moving truck loaded with scrap tires.
Sheriff Bo Burnett told the Chattanooga Times Free Press someone has been dumping hundreds of tires along the highway, apparently tossing them from a vehicle every 20 to 30 feet. The tires have posed a threat to motorists who sometimes have to dodge them in the roadway.
Burnett has assigned one detective to work on the case full time.
But Marion County has only been a small part of the tire dumping problem. It's an urban issue, too.
It's become so bad in Chattanooga that Public Works Director Lee Norris has asked the City Council to adopt a new ordinance to crack down on dealers he suspects of dumping used tires.
