Do you ever wonder what is in your water? I do. Even with a water filter at home, I still get a little suspicious of where my water has been and what it has gone through. I think I have seen too many things over the years at these cleanups around our waterways.
The next time you take a big sip of water, just imagine all the items that might have been flavoring it before it got to you — tires, old appliances, trash, beer bottles, old furniture. You name it. It is amazing what some people will dump in our waterways! What are they thinking?
The ridiculous part of it is that most of the things that are dumped easily can be disposed of at any of the local Solid Waste Convenience Centers around the county. Why would you want to throw them in marshes or the water?
The other things that we often see dumped are tires. Now there is an appropriate way to dispose of tires as well and, yes, there is a fee, but I find it hard to believe that citizens and, particularly, local businessmen would opt to dump tires in a creek rather than pay $1.30 per tire to do things right. Yes, I know the large tractor-trailer tires are about $6.70 each, but if you are in business or drive a truck, those are fees you are responsible for. Do the right thing. Junking up our creeks and rivers is not the right thing at all.
I know last weekend there were special forces taking care of business for the United States on the other side of the world, but on April 29, we had our own Liberty County Public Works special forces helping out at Cay Creek.
Under the supervision of Liberty County Commissioner Marion Stevens and Public Works Director Clenton Wells, our own go-to guys in the public works department were working hard to clean up an illegal dump in Cay Creek.
If you ever have helped with any waterway cleanups around here, you already know two things:
1. Liberty County is full of wetlands and waterways that are located throughout our county.
2. Most of these areas are not necessarily easy to access, especially if you are trying to remove large and cumbersome debris dumped by lazy citizens.
So, that is why Clenton called in his own special forces — Albert Anderson, Johnny Bailey and Curtis Williams.
These guys are super. They spent several hours tediously dredging out and removing more than 25 tires as well as appliances, old crab traps, fishing line and equipment.
You would not believe the stuff that was junking up this creek. There even were bones down there — thankfully, not human! It took a great deal of time and expertise to pull up each item on to the bridge so that it could be loaded up and disposed of properly.
Cay Creek Road is a pretty rural road with vistas of marsh and trees that create a canopy over the road in many areas.
“I know that several local homeowners in the area have been deeply concerned about the creek and other areas being used as dump sites,” Stevens said.
“I wish that these people who feel compelled to create these dump sites rather than dispose of trash and debris appropriately could realize that they are not only hurting our environment, they are offending and hurting their neighbors as well.”
Do the right thing and dispose of your trash responsibly. Don’t make our local waters and green spaces dumping areas. Don’t trash our world!
Mark your calendar for this Keep Liberty Beautiful event:
KLB volunteer appreciation is from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at the Mills House in Hinesville.
Do you want to make a difference? There still is time to participate in this spring’s Great American Cleanup. Organize a cleanup for your organization, your church group, your family or your neighborhood today.
Call 880-4888 or email klcb@coastalnow.net for more information.
Protect water, dump trash properly
Keep Liberty Beautiful
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