TURNER – Five property owners have very little time to clean up their yards or face legal proceedings charging operating illegal junkyards.

Selectmen Tuesday heard a report from Code Enforcement Officer Roger Williams outlining how the five have not yet brought their properties into compliance with town ordinances. The board voted to have Williams check the properties immediately, and if they are still not in compliance, move forward with legal proceedings.

Junkyard operations have been in the sights of the board since June, setting specific deadlines and promising legal consequences for failure to comply. More than a dozen property owners have been determined to have brought their properties into compliance. The five who Williams found last week were reported to be Gregory Spear on Fern Street, Daniel Richardson on Route 4, Rodney Harlow and Wesley Walton, both on Trask Road, and Melodye Landry on Little Wilson Pond Road.

Rodney Spear protested on Wednesday that Williams “has no right to be walking around my property when I’m not here – that’s trespassing. If he wants to check my property, he should make an appointment with me and walk my property with me. He has never attempted to meet with me. He always shows up here when I’m at work.”

Spear said “I have cleaned up my yard. The vehicles are gone, except for two antique cars that I’m restoring. There is equipment here that is being used for work. … I have a plow truck that is not put on the road but is used to plow my yard in winter. I do welding work and mechanical repairs. I’ve been here for 25 years, and my property is clean.”

Wesley Walton, 80, said “I’ve been working on cleaning the place up, and it’s down to a little pile. I’m a World War II veteran and have lived here since ’49, and I have cleaned up most of it. I’m in trucking and I have accumulated a few tires and trucks. I’ve gotten rid of the trucks but getting rid of the tires is terribly expensive. I’ve accumulated some, but I’m working on getting rid of them.”

Richardson would comment only at his place of business, and Landry and Harlow could not be contacted.

There are seven legal junkyard operations in town and all of them are up for renewal at the Sept. 18 selectmen’s meeting.

In other business, selectmen turned down a request by the Turner Center for the Arts to serve wine at a reception at the center on Oct. 7 commemorating its first year of operation. The center is located in the Leavitt Institute Building, sits on property owned by SAD 52, and “No way,” said Selectmen Ralph Caldwell, “are they going to be serving alcoholic beverages on school property.”

The board tabled action on three fronts, instructing Town Manager James Catlin to obtain further information: Updating the town office computer system; signing off on the town’s audit; considering purchasing an excavator for road work.

It was noted that the next tri-town meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Greene Town Office. Municipal officials from Greene, Leeds and Turner gather with local legislative representatives to keep each other abreast of current happenings.

Action was also postponed on a complaint from Turner Rescue that its radio system is bombarded by the town of Buxton’s system. Selectmen learned that nine towns in Maine are on the same frequency as Turner, and that Buxton’s is most troublesome, frequently overriding the Turner radio.

More specific cost information will be obtained by rescue on methods for dealing with the problem and be presented to the Sept. 18 meeting.