Photo Credit: Pete McCommons

Ort's carport.

After a somewhat convoluted hearing in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court Monday afternoon, Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones found William Orten Carlton guilty of two counts of probation violation and ordered that he remain on probation for another month while he finishes cleaning up his property.

Citations from the ACC Community Protection Division had been leveled at “Ort” after a fallen tree limb cracked open a storage shed behind his house on Sharon Circle in the Homewood Hill subdivision, scattering waterlogged debris from a lifetime of memorabilia collecting.

Two junked automobiles and two other mouldering sheds did not help his case, but by court time today, the autos and the sheds were gone, though his carport still contained collectibles stacked in boxes.

Assistant County Attorney Carrol Perrin argued against releasing Ort from probation, while local attorney Bill Overend, representing Ort, enumerated the ways in which Ort has attempted to comply with the citations against him and pointed out that the community protection officer who wrote the citations testified that Ort has brought in no new trash to the site.

By Judge Spornberger Jones’ order, Ort will have to finish cleaning up his property and must report back to the court every 10 days detailing his progress.

Leaving the courthouse after the hearing, Ort said he would appeal the judge’s ruling continuing his probation.