No Alice’s Restaurant Here!

by Alex Brooks
At Petersburgh Town Court on April 27, Jeff Collins of Brunswick was brought before Town Justice Paul Montgomery on charges of dumping garbage by the side of the road in Petersburgh.
The garbage was found by the side of Avery Hill Road. Petersburgh Town Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said garbage is often dumped on that road, which comes off of Route 2 and has only one house on it. The Petersburgh highway crew found the garbage and had to pick it up. An animal had gotten into it and scattered it all around.
Collins became a suspect when his name and address was found, Alice’s Restaurant style, on an envelope among the garbage. The State Police were called and went to Collins’ house to question him and investigate the crime. They gave him a summons to appear before the Petersburgh Town Court to answer charges of illegal dumping, which carries a fine of up to $1,000.
Collins appeared and pleaded not guilty. Judge Montgomery asked him how an envelope with his name on it happened to be among the garbage. Collins said, “I don’t deny that it is my garbage. But I don’t know how it got there.” He said he works for Troy Sand and Gravel, and they allow him to put garbage in their dumpster, so he would have no reason to drive all the way out to Petersburgh and dump garbage illegally.
Judge Montgomery reminded him that he was under oath and that lying to a judge while under oath is a much more serious crime than dumping garbage by the roadside. If someone were later able to prove that he did know how the garbage got there, he would be in much bigger trouble than he would be if found guilty of illegal dumping.
Collins repeated that he did not deny that it was his garbage, but he said, “I did not dump the garbage there.”
Asked if he had any idea how his garbage might have gotten there, Collins had nothing to say, but when Ray Harrison said the Trooper who investigated said he thought it was Collins’ roommate who dumped the garbage, Collins volunteered that his roommate did have some friends in Grafton, and might have been traveling out in this direction, but Collins said he had no specific knowledge about his roommate carrying or dumping the garbage.
That was the end of the testimony, and Judge Montgomery found him not guilty, as there was no evidence presented that would prove it was Collins who dumped the garbage there.