Turtletown, Tenn. – Nobody trashes Tennessee! That is the message concerned Polk County citizens and government officials would like everyone to remember when it comes to trash and littering along state roads.
On July 24, four local citizens and one Polk County official came together to clean up trash along Runion Road, just off of Tennessee 68. The county road connects with Tennessee 123 and is a major thoroughfare for those traveling between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Everyone gathered at the Kickstart Convenience store on Tennessee 68, where Tennessee Litter Grant Director for Polk County William Wallace met them and provided safety vests, trash grabbers and trash bags, as well as a safety vehicle and trailer to carry the trash collected to the county dump.
Runion Road is about a mile long. After five hours of picking up trash, the group collected more than 30 bags of garbage weighing about 750 pounds.
A free barbecue lunch was provided to those who helped with the trash clean up by Kickstart store owner Dee Dee Deal who also helped pick up trash.
The organizers – Ronney Freeman, Patty Freeman, Jeff Thomason and Deal, along with Wallace – hope to keep Runion Road free of trash. They are planning future trash pick up events along Polk roads. If anyone would like to assist in future cleanups, email Freeman at ronneydale@yahoo.com.
By Krista Craig, The News Observer