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Junker cars left at local wrecking yards Jim Craven photo Jay McCleary, of Central Point Auto Wrecking, checks out nine junk cars that were abandoned overnight outside the fence at Schnitzer Steel. Investigators believe they may have been left by a man reportedly posing as a worker for Jackson County's Vehicle Abatement Program. By SHARI DOWNHILL A rash of illegal, late-night junk-car dumping in the industrial area of White City may be the work of a single individual making a few bucks at the expense of others. Nine cars appeared Thursday morning alongside a fence at Schnitzer Steel's White City scrap metal yard on Avenue G. The junkers were deposited in a neat row, joining a Honda car abandoned there just days before. Two other vehicles were dumped off at Jay McCleary's nearby White City auto storage yard over the past couple of days. McCleary owns Central Point Auto Wrecking and has removed abandoned cars on contract for Jackson County for the past five years. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department is conducting an investigation to determine where the vehicles came from and who abandoned them, said Terri Baldridge, office manager of the White City sheriff's substation. Baldridge also oversees the Jackson County Vehicle Abatement Program. McCleary was summoned to Schnitzer Steel Thursday morning to start the lien sale process and eventually tow the abandoned cars to his storage lot at the request of the sheriff's department. Once the legal paperwork is complete, he'll return them to Schnitzer for recycling if owners don't step forward to claim them, which is unlikely. McCleary said dumping has worsened since the price of scrap steel took a nosedive and individuals now must pay to get rid of vehicles they don't want. It's time-consuming work, he says, and hardly worth what he's paid by the county to do it. Thursday's dumping has a twist, McCleary said. A man driving a primer gray truck reportedly arrived at McCleary's White City storage yard towing one of the vehicles, a wrecked, upside-down Ford Ranger truck, on a flatbed trailer within the past week. The driver apparently wanted to leave the metal hulk for salvage. After employees told him there would be a charge, the man reportedly grew irritated, refused to pay and drove away. The Ranger was one of the nine abandoned vehicles found outside Schnitzer Steel Thursday morning. Area resident Matthew Craig said a man driving a truck and trailer of the same description had told him a couple of months ago that he was hauling vehicles for the Jackson County abatement program and asked if Craig wanted vehicles removed from his property for a small fee. Craig declined. "It really burns my butt that someone is out there making a business out of doing this illegally when we work so hard to do it legally," McCleary said. Schnitzer has a license to crush vehicles but does not take them without a clear title, said General Manager Bill Stading. "Someone has a plan here," Stading said. "This has all happened within the last three days." Even though Schnitzer is a steel recycling yard, Stading said his workers can't haul abandoned vehicles into the yard and crush them. "It's a legality thing," he said. "The DMV (Driver and Motor Vehicle Services) won't let us touch them without a clear title. You're not going to stop this as long as someone has to pay to get rid of (vehicles)," Stading said. Wrecked cars aren't the only thing left at the gate for Schnitzer Steel workers to deal with. Refrigerators, washers and dryers continuously block the entryway, especially on Monday mornings. "When you've got to dig yourself into work after a weekend, it's not a good way to start the day," Stading said. Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.