Eyesore leads to $109,000 in fines, possible jail time.

Arthur Hicks was fined for failing to clean up the former Car Doctors auto salvage yard and faces jail time if he continues to ignore the property.

By NICK WERNER
nwerner@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE -- A Muncie man was fined $109,000 and threatened with jail time Tuesday in connection with environmental violations at a former junkyard.

Delaware Circuit Court Judge Marianne Vorhees found that Arthur Hicks Jr. had failed to comply with a July court order to clean up solid waste at the former Car Doctors auto salvage yard, 1004 S. Burlington Drive.

Vorhees fined Hicks $1,000 a day for the 109 days he had failed to comply with the order. And for every month beginning Jan. 1 that Hicks delays the cleanup, he faces a weekend in jail, Vorhees ruled.

The Star Press asked Hicks afterward whether he would begin cleaning the property to avoid weekend jail time.

"I don't do anything on the weekends anyway," he said. "They feed you, don't they?"

Hicks's stubbornness stems from his position that he no longer owns the property and shouldn't be held responsible for cleaning it up. According to Hicks, Bank One took possession of the property years ago.

Hicks' attorney, Bruce Munson, argued the bank likely declined to take title to the property out of concern over pre-existing environmental hazards, explaining why Hicks remained the owner of record.

Deputy attorney general Justin Barrett, representing the Indiana Department of Environmental Resources, produced auditors records showing Hicks had owned the property uninterrupted since 1991.

Vorhees said the state could suspend the $109,000 fine if Hicks complies with the cleanup order.

Hicks told the court he has no income outside a Social Security check.

The five-acre site is bordered by a stretch of the Cardinal Greenway.

There is a large amount of debris present across the property, including tires, auto parts, construction debris, trailers and general refuse, according to IDEM.

Potential contaminants at the site include lead, asbestos, antifreeze, gas, oil and other auto-related fluids.

Contact news reporter Nick Werner at 213-5832

NEWS SOURCE