Health board orders Washington Township property be cleaned up

The Holmes County Health Board issued orders Friday, May 18 against a Washington Township couple who have accumulated animal food wastes and other trash at a Township Road 470 property.Jonnie Bond and Ari Jolovitz have 30 days to clean up their property at 7971 Township Road 470 or face possible legal action. At the health board’s monthly meeting Friday, Bond and Jolovitz said the waste at the property has accumulated through Bond’s taking care of 100 cats and a township resident dumping trash.“A lot of it is animal food, people give me food for the animals,” Bond said. “It is empty food cans.”Bond said she has tried to clean things up but is “overwhelmed”. She said she owns four properties, where she currently houses and cares for 100 cats, and assists her mother, who has medical conditions.Bond described some of the materials as empty containers, which she said do not pose a public health hazard.At least one of the properties is in Wayne County, near Shreve. The Shreve property was also under orders to be cleaned up by Wayne County health officials. Bond said she moved some of the containers from the Shreve property to the Washington Township residence.Jolovitz said some of the waste at the property was placed there by a township resident in retaliation for he and Bond’s denying access to the property to hunt.Director of environmental health Jon Croup said he performed an initial assessment of the site in April and contacted Bond twice. When he returned to do a follow-up, Bond asked him to leave the property.Croup said a cursory examination of the premises May 17 indicated nothing has changed.“I’m not sure where (Bond and Jolovitz) are at,” Croup said. “I do believe we have a solid waste nuisance and it does appear there has not been an effort to address it.”Bond stormed out of the meeting as the board voted to issue orders, yelling, “I don’t want your help, I don’t want you nosing through my stuff,” and “It’s not trash, it’s my stuff”.McFadden said Bond and Jolovitz have contacted an attorney in the matter and recommended the health board contact the prosecuting attorney for assistance. If the property is not cleaned up within 30 days, the health board can pursue legal action if it deems necessary, McFadden said.The next meeting of the health board is scheduled for June 15.