Boulder dumping, spring cleaning; one man’s waste, another’s treasure?

Best Western Coral Hills assistant manager John Kessler displaying a boulder that was anonymously dumped in the vacant lot between his hotel and the Dixie Palms Motel, March 22, 2013, St. George, Utah | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Every now and again there’s a relatively harmless incident that occurs that, while not hard hitting news, is just enough to leave you thinking, “Well now, that’s different.” This is one of those times.

People relieve their own properties of the most random items during the spring cleaning season – dilapidated refrigerators, worn out sofas, an overflow of oleander branches and other yard waste. All too often one man’s garbage does not become another’s treasure, it becomes another’s problem.  Not the least of these, are an endless list of items dumped somewhere on public lands.

How about a boulder in the middle of downtown St. George? Does a vacant lot inherently invite dumping, is there an invisible sign that says “here I am, feel free to dump your unwanted junk and waste – and rocks – on me?

On a vacant lot between the Best Western Coral Hills and Dixie Palms Motel now sits a fairly large boulder that appeared out of nowhere last week.

Blake Derbidge, who works as a live-in manager for the Palms Motel with his wife, said his wife was awakened by a loud “thud” next to their bedroom during the middle of the night. As their bedroom has no windows they had no idea what had happened until the next morning when they discovered the boulder.

“I guess they figured they didn’t have anywhere else to dump it,” Derbidge said.

So far no one knows where the rock came from, other than it was dumped and left behind.

Marc Mortensen, assistant to the city manager of St. George, said the city has had issues in the past with construction materials and concrete being dumped in random vacant lots within city limits, though that occurred largely during the building boom. It’s not as common as it used to be, he said.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of (a boulder) being left on private property,” Mortensen said.

As for the boulder, the property owners are still trying to figure out what to do with it.

So what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen thrown away?

Best Western Coral Hills assistant manager John Kessler displaying a boulder that was anonymously dumped in the vacant lot between his hotel and the Dixie Palms Motel, March 22, 2013, St. George, Utah | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Best Western Coral Hills assistant manager John Kessler displaying a boulder that was anonymously dumped in the vacant lot between his hotel and the Dixie Palms Motel, March 22, 2013, St. George, Utah | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • Bev Lowe March 22, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    They can come and dump that big rock at my house!!!

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