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ZEBULON - In spite of threatening rain, a small but hopefully influential group of community leaders gathered at Mt Gilead Church on Highway 19 to conduct the first of a series of trash pick up efforts. They picked up litter on both sides of the highway northward to the Pike County Line.
"It's a small beginning, but great things can happen when people just show up and set to work," Doug Lacy, one of the founders of Pick Up Pike said.
"What we need is for a couple of thousand people to start putting in an hour or so a month," agreed Walker Chandler. "We need every landowner to pick up along his own frontage even if on the first go-around he and his family get angry or depressed. A child who picks up litter is far less likely to be a litter himself."
The group plans to partner with the school system to develop programs to help inculcate children with the principles of self-respect and community awareness that will help abate the problems of continuing littering.
Churches and clubs are going to be asked to adopt sections of road.
A website charitable donation to the effort can be found at: http://www.gofundme.com/7kudoc
"We think it is important that every family and business to contribute $5, $10, $20 or more to this fund ( which will be used to purchase recyclable, paintable bags for children, waste disposal fees --if any--and social media campaigns). We want every family and business to "have some skin in the game" as we move forward on a variety of projects," Chandler said.
Member Jason Bridendine of First Bank of Pike has been in touch with the Sheriff Jimmy Thomas's Office which has promised its wholehearted support.
"People who are waiting for someone else to pick up trash may be waiting a long time," one of the members commented.
Pike County used to pay the women's prison about $35,000 a year to have crews of women prisoners help pick up litter, but have decided in recent years to cut that from the budget. It should be noted that former Warden Edd Sanders was one of the group of people who picked up trash alongside 19 on Saturday.