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A fire hazard and a breeding ground for mosquitos -- or a company that keeps the environment clean?
Those are two views of the same business outside Vivian in north Caddo Parish.
The controversy involves the Mertis Tire Company and its neighbors.
Mertis said they take tires that would otherwise be dumped, sell the ones they can and take the others to a recycling facility.
But some neighbors say Mertis is a tire dump with all the potential environmental problems.
Lela Rogers said she's been complaining to state environmental officials for three years about the tires that sit about 100 yards away from her home. Rogers said the water-filled tires breed mosquitos and she also is concerned about what might happen if they catch fire.
Company manager Rex Thompson said he puts out pesticides for the mosquitos and follows all fire regulations pertaining to tire storage.
A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality said they've inspected the site almost 30 times in the past four years. The latest was earlier this month.
They found minor violations but nothing that would warrant shutting down the facility, the spokesman said.
The state fire marshal's office did not have the results of their inspections immediately available.
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