About 200 Volunteers Clean up Licking River
September 11, 2011
Click here LCSWCD and other photos from the September 10, 2011 Licking River Roundup.
Reprinted from the Newark Advocate: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20110911/NEWS01/109110314/About-200-volunteers-clean-up-Licking-River Click on link to view Newark Advocate Photos.
About 200 volunteers clean up Licking River
6:48 AM, Sep. 11, 2011 |
Written by Anna Sudar, Advocate Reporter
NEWARK -- Philip Hall was keeping track of the number of tires he pulled out of the Licking River.
"I'm trying to find at least four, but if I can get more, that's great," the 13-year-old said. "Every little bit of trash helps clean up this place."
Hall was a part of a group of about 200 volunteers who spent their Saturday morning picking up trash during the Licking River Roundup.
Started in 1987, the roundup used to be an annual event dedicated to cleaning up the river, said Jim Kiracofe, program administrator for the Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District.
But in 2003, the event was discontinued because of staff reductions. This year, the conservation district partnered with the Licking County Health Department, Licking County Recycling, and the city of Newark's stormwater utility and Water Treatment Plant to bring back the river roundup.
"We want to clean up the trash in the river and instill stewardship (of the river) in the community," Kiracofe said.
Some of the trash in the river comes from people who spend time near the water and leave items behind. Rain washes some garbage into the river.
No matter how it gets there, it is bad for the people and animals in Licking County, Kiracofe said.
"The trash will degrade over time, and it's going to impair the water quality," he said. "It's affecting the habitat and the environment."
Volunteers who canoed the river before the roundup found more than 100 tires, several shopping carts, a toy car, clothing and hundreds of bottles and cans, said Luellen Deeds, education coordinator for Licking County Recycling.
"This is just a really good community effort to get our message out there that we want our river clean," Deeds said. "Hopefully people will think twice before throwing things in."
On Saturday, volunteers met at Everett Park and were assigned a section of the river to clean, from Manning Street in Newark to Blackhand Gorge. Some walked along the bank and wadded in shallow water while others used canoes.
Sam White, his son, Fischer White, 12, and Sam Esdohr, 12, paddled and pushed a canoe down the river and helped collect bags of trash. The boys were participating in the event with other members of Newark Boy Scout Troop 2.
"Our troop uses the river; it's in our best interest to keep it clean so other people can use it, too," Sam White said.
A member of American Heritage Girls Troop 1717, Samantha Specht, 11, said she was helping with the event to save wildlife.
"There are all kinds of animals who rely on the river, and if it's polluted, they could die or get injured," she said.
Newark High School student Sanqhiest Hall, 16, said she was shocked to find so many large pieces of trash in the water.
"I'm surprised people throw all that stuff in the river," she said. "It's good to get people out of the house and get them involved."
Nancy Taylor, a chemist at the Newark Water Treatment Plant, said she was glad so many people were participating in the roundup.
"This is our community and we need to clean it up," she said. "People should be able to come to the river and go creeking and see the natural beauty and not the trash."
Anna Sudar can be reached at (740) 328-8544 or asudar@newarkadvocate.com.
