(Chatham) — Pittsylvania County commemorated Earth Day this weekend with a community-wide litter cleanup event.
Volunteers helped pick up litter along several of the County’s primary and secondary roads. Individuals, families, civic groups, churches, youth groups and others picked up all kinds of trash and debris. There were prizes for the most bags collected, most unusual item collected and more.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Darrell Dalton says this is about more than just trash pickup. “For many people, the roads are the first things they see when they come to Pittsylvania County, either to visit, do business or just passing through,” Dalton told a crowd at the cleanup event. “Imagine what folks think when they see discarded tires, fast food wrappers, bags and trash laying along the roadside.”
Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Ken Bowman says this weekend’s event will help kickoff the formation of a Beautification Committee in the county. “The Board of Supervisors in their March meeting decided to start up a Beautification Committee,” Bowman said. “We will appoint volunteers from each voting district to serve on this committee. I was appointed as the Board’s liaison to the Committee.”
There was a Beautification Committee in the county last decade, but they quietly disbanded several years ago. That effort was led by Bowman’s wife, Brenda. “We will have a chairperson and a mission statement that emphasizes litter control, landscaping, beautification projects, signage and public education,” Bowman added. “Other stakeholders will include businesses, civic groups, and government bodies to name a few.”
Last month the Board of Supervisors voted to hire two part-time workers to coordinate litter pickup along county roadways. They will use trustees from the county jail.