A city of Denmark night club (The Image Sports Bar Club) is “becoming a nuisance.” Denmark Police Chief Leroy Grimes told members of Denmark City Council at their March meeting Monday night. Chief Grimes presented council members with a list of infractions incurred by the Magnolia Street business, located across from the old Piggly Wiggly, over a period of time and recommended that council members consider designating the business a nuisance and therefore not having its business license renewed. Chief Grimes noted that there have been incidents of “gunfire” and “shell casings” have been found on the premises of the club.

“We’re going to wind up with something serious,” Grimes said, noting that council needed to take a look at not renewing the business’s license. When asked by Councilmember Hope Long-Weldon if the business’s owner, who was later identified as Tony Duncan of Bamberg, was aware of the city’s Nuisance Ordinance, the chief noted that Duncan was aware of the Ordinance.

A copy of the city of Denmark Nuisance Ordinance faxed to the Advertizer Herald Tuesday morning states: “The Image Club is in violation of The Denmark Code of Ordinances, Chapter 133. Offenses against Public Welfare: Section 133.04 Maintenance of Nuisance Part (A) reads:

It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain within the corporate limits of the city any residence, building, place condition or thing which is offensive to the public health, safety or morals, and which amounts in law to a public nuisance. Part (B) states: The city may abate the nuisance by any method or proceeding authorized or sanctioned by law, after notice to the violator and his or her subsequent failure to abate the nuisance within the period of time stated on the notice.

Denmark Fire Chief Charles Breland, at the beginning of his fire department report, stated that “another issue” with the club was that it was becoming a “fire liability” with the club’s fire exits being blocked off. Denmark City Council members received as information the information and request coming from Chief Grimes.