The city of Huntington, WV, has been seeing many of the theft problems that are sweeping through the country. The theft has gotten so bad that the City Council will be reintroducing an existing ordinance on the proper procedure for handling scrap by junkyards at its bi-weekly council meeting Aug. 28.
Councilman Jim Ritter, the sponsor of the resolution, said that he has become very frustrated with the lack of follow through with scrap yards in the city. He claims that the proliferation of theft hasn’t bee met with an increase in notification by scrap yards in the city where stolen scrap may show up.
After reintroducing the existing ordinance, Ritter says he will introduce new legislation addressing the issue. "We are looking to redo the ordinance to make it more stringent, Ritter says.
The ordinance itself, which has been on the books for around 40 years, requires scrap dealers to keep accurate records of people who sell them metal for scrapping purposes.