Volunteers preparing River Sweep
 

Volunteers preparing River Sweep
Litter cleanup covers shorelines in six states

By Andrea Remke
Enquirer staff writer

FOR MORE INFORMATION
River Sweep 2005 takes place Saturday. For more information, call the Ohio River
Valley Water Sanitation Commission at (800) 359-3977 or Boone County Solid Waste
Office at (859) 334-3151.


BOONE COUNTY - Picking up thousands of bags worth of litter and garbage along
the river is dirty work, but somebody has to do it - and many have volunteered.

Public organizations, civic groups, clubs and individuals will come together
Saturday for River Sweep 2005, a volunteer effort to help clean up debris from
the Ohio River and its tributaries. Helping hands from Boone, Campbell and
Kenton counties will join the cause.

Becky Haltermon, a programs educator with the Boone County Solid Waste
Coordinator's Office, said the office still is signing up volunteers to help at
one of the four sites in the county.

"It's literally tons of garbage that we're picking up," she said.

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (Orsanco) said that, during
last year's event, more than 21,000 volunteers in six states bordering the river
collected more than 13,000 tons of trash. It was gathered from 1,962 miles of
shoreline from Pittsburgh through Kentucky and on to Cairo, Ill.

Melissa Mann, Boone County Solid Waste enforcement officer, said the volunteers
who take part in River Sweep "really see the problem of litter."

"It puts it into focus... They see they are contributing," she said. "It's a
'feel-good' day."

Chris Lorentz, professor of biology at Thomas More College, said the college's
biology field station along Route 8 in eastern Campbell County has been a River
Sweep host site for the past 10-15 years.

The group usually consists of about 30-50 volunteers.

Lorentz said cleaning up the river leads to an improved aesthetic look and
safety for wildlife, but it's about community service, too.

"This gives people an opportunity to make an investment," he said. "And to take
pride in this resource."

Refreshments before and after the event, as well as gloves, trash bags and
T-shirts, will be provided at River Sweep sites.

Volunteer James Rice, 75, of Union, has been involved in community cleanups for
several years. He has enlisted his wife, Gertrude, and daughter, Denice, to help
with River Sweep, too.

"God gave us this beautiful country, and I intend to keep it that way," he said.

Rice, who cleans up litter in creeks, lakes, even graveyards around the area, is
passionate about keeping the Earth clean. "I'll keep doing it 'til I kick the
bucket," he said.

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