Illegal fruit dumping at South Omaha's Mandan Park raises concerns

OMAHA, Neb. — Illegal dumping of fruit at South Omaha's Mandan Park is raising concerns among community members.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

Stephen Bolgar, president of the Mandan Park Neighborhood Association and Friends of Mandan Park and Mount Vernon Gardens, said he has been noticing a lot of dumping in the park in recent months.

Bolgar said the dumping is connected to poaching.

"They're the same persistent problems this time of year. We have a lot of apples dumped to help with the poaching problems that we've had. It helps aid the poaching," Bolgar said. "By bringing in the animals to one area where they can shoot them."

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

A Parks Department spokesperson said the city has an on-site caretaker who addresses the issue.

"Dumping of fruit had been an issue at Mandan Park. We are fortunate to have an on-site park caretaker who promptly cleans up any illegal dumping," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said any dumping that needs to be removed should be reported to the Mayor's hotline. In-process dumping should be reported to 911.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

We have talked to Bolgar in the past about dumping in South Omaha.

Watch: Neighbors want permanent fix to continued illegal dumping in South Omaha neighborhood

"Well, people just shouldn't be dumping the trash in those volumes. You know, there's places to dump it, and there's trash cans, so you know that was done intentionally," Bolgar said.

Dumping can be reported to the Mayor's hotline at 402-444-5555.

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