Let's Try This

Lily - you've hit upon one of my biggest peeves!! Thanks for posting about this blight on our earth and for the link to the Rockland idea - a great one for making people aware that someone is watching! 

One year we drove to New York for a family visit (we're from the central area) and when we returned, after driving 2400 miles, the median of CR 220 was the worst we had seen in our entire trip.  We turned from Rt. 17 on to 220 and I was appalled, to say the least and when we arrived home through 3.5 miles of litter, I don't think we even had the car unpacked before I contacted the county.  This was back when Arthur Ivey was in 'charge'.  It was evident that not only had a ton of trash been dumped on the highway, but the maintenance crew, insteading of raking it up, actually mowed it along with the grass and chopped it into little pieces - a common practice in those days.

Proper disposal of trash is not rocket science.  Take it home and put it with the other trash for the weekly pickup which you are paying for anyway, thanks to Lily's buddy, the former Honerable.

Anyone have an idea for teaching the neighborhood children not to throw their trash in our yards?  I seldom actually see them doing it of course.

Great idea lily. As a person who logs many miles in the different counties surrounding Clay. I have to agree the trash pickup did not stop the people who are responsible for dumping the trash along our roadways. Along with the numerous complaints filed about the company given the task to pick up our garbage and leaves it everywhere too. Goes to show what twisted logic comes from those who stand to benefit from lucrative contracts at the expense of the taxpayers.

Our former Honorable member has now moved on to more twisted logic:

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120407/opl_222492369.shtml

I saw this yesterday in the Times-Union and could only shake my head. We've been writing about this for months now and finally someone has pointed it out to Ron Littlepage? Talk about being late to the party. I'm happy to see he seems to be on board but I still think Carl Hiaasen is a much better writer and did a much n better job on the subject. I kind of yawned at the end on Ron's ditty. Oh well, better Nate than Lever. :>)  (That' the punchline to a very old and really silly joke.)

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

http://www.myspace.com/jimmaxie

This pile of crap has been sitting out by the road in front of my neighbor's house since before Thanksgiving! I called Advance Disposal to have it pick up last Monday and still it sits out there....so if it isn't picked up on Thursday (our normal pickup day)  of this week who do I call to complain? I am sure the people that crammed this mandatory trash service down our throats,  don't give a fat, rat's butt on whether or not it gets picked up this year or next.

 Thanks Lily for opening up my favorite can of worms!!! I got pictures of the litter that has been strewn all across my neighborhood by the trash people.  

Great Job Maxie!

Lily the TU shows up after the entire State of Florida has slapped Thrasher around including the MCS bloggers.

Littlepage's best line in his article that applies to both subjects,

"Even better would be for voters to elect officials who represent them as much as they represent the developers."

After Hugo Chávez suffers a blow to his 'revolution' there is hope, and I am hoping common sense prevails in our county concerning those elected officials as well.

I wonder lily, if we could push to get civic and service organizations, school clubs and homeowner groups to buy into adopting roadways in our communities.

I am president of a civic organization. I could certainly present the idea at our next board meeting (Friday).

If each of us pursued the people we influence, we could knock this out fairly easily, I'd say.

Lily et al, this is one of my pet peeves, too.

Back in the late '80s, I was transferred to the newspaper in Tifton, Georgia.  One of the perks of being an editor is that lots of organizations ask you to join.  Tifton's Clean Community Commission asked me to serve on its board of directors.  A few months later, it was named the Cleanest City in the United States by the Keep America Beautiful Foundation.

The difference between Tift County and Clay County in the amount of trash where it wasn't supposed to be was astounding.  Wanna know something even more astounding?

It didn't take all that much effort by anyone to make that astounding difference in community appearance.  Just a little bit of effort by almost everyone is what did the job, and fed a well-deserved sense of civic pride.

The hard part will be to convince Clay County residents, who are used to driving through trash piles on the roadsides, that civic cleanliness is both a worthy and easily-achievable goal.

Michael S. Mann

They make laws and put up signs to discourage tossing stuff out onto the road ways. But with no way to enforce it, the  trash just keeps building up.

I couldn't help but notice some inmates were cleaning up one of the side streets in OPS. I would like to thank who ever set this up. They also mowed and edged the side walks and swept the gutters. Once a year I try to set up a clean up crew to do this task, be it with Cub Scouts or just me and my family, but this year I don't have to do this. Thanks guys. 

We participate in the River Clean up  every year and the Clay County Clean up. I also try to get in on the Costal Clean up when I know when it is. I have ditch that runs along side my house and I try to keep it clean.

On Sat morns there is a group of people that clean up the entrance of OPS. They have been doing this for quite some time. I try to drop a couple bucks in their buckets to help them pay for mower gas. I just wanted to thank them for giving up their Sat ams to do this. 

Over the years I have found some interesting "trash" I guess the most bizarre was a bag of pot that someone had thown out. I turned that in to the Deputy that was at the trash dump site. Lawnmowers, car batteries, used rubbers(yuck),signs, plastic water bottles, baby diapers, tires, traffic cones, and not to mention fast food wrappers and cups....course the list just goes on and on.

Something strange I noticed at the beach, I always find shoes. Sandals, flip flops, sneakers, just laying there nice and neat. Like someone took them off to go into the water and forgot to get them when they left the beach. I don't know how you could forget your shoes.

I have a grabber stick and gloves that I carry with me on most outings because I never know when I will have to clean up after some slobs that have no regard for others.

So if you see me with my green grabber stick along side the road somewhere don't forget to honk and wave.

http://www.myspace.com/jimmaxie

Thanks Maxie for all you do.  When my husband & I go for walks around here (not often enough), we also take a bag and gloves with us and add to our exercise by bending over and picking up litter. 

I would join an "adoption" program but am too cowardly to put myself out there on a main highway, so stick to the side streets in my neighborhood. 

I too have noticed shoes along the highway - figured some kids threw them out as a "lark".  Anyway - this is a great discussion and maybe will ultimately help bring awareness to the community - that's mostly what it takes is just for people to think about it before they just toss.

I have a friend who was visiting England and commented to her host that it was nice that people there obviously didn't litter as the streets and walks were so clean.  Her friend replied, "why would we do that?" 

Mike - when you're a Commish, maybe you can address this with the BCC!  And Lily - once again, thanks for starting this thread. 

Maxie, let me add my kudos for the work you do.  Actually feels good, knowing you're doing something nice for everyone, doesn't it?  We should give our jail inmates the opportunity to experience that same feeling as often as practical.

Unfortunately, Clay County counts too much on people like you, the good folks who are willing to pick up after the rest.  It's so much easier, and much more effective overall, when everyone pitches in just a little bit.

Sunflower (gotta love a lady who likes talking trash), when I first moved back to Clay County after my time in Tifton and Dalton (where I also served on the Keep Whitfield Beautiful board of directors) I twice volunteered in any capacity for the Clay County version and got a "We'll call you" that was never followed up on either time.  I don't think that government agency even exists here anymore.

If I become commish (last I heard, Travis and Debbie haven't decided to drop out quite yet), make sure you remind me of this blog, OK?

Michael S. Mann

If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'.

Before logging on to catch the latest on The Sun, I sent an e-mail to a few folks at the County thanking them for picking up the litter along CR-218 West - the main artery into Clay Hill.  I'll match any litter horror story you can come up with by asking you to take a drive out CR-218 W.  If it is not mile after mile after mile of littered roadway it's because the County has just picked it up.  We usually get blessed with a pick-up about twice a year.  But this past Monday, we received our Christmas present in the form of clean roadways.  Already today (Wednesday), the litter is starting to accumulate again.  With about 15,000 + vehicles per day making the trip, and about 80% of those being pick up trucks with stuff blowing out the back, it doesn't take long for CR-218 to become what Bob Phelps of the old Jacksonville Journal called, "the trashiest road I've ever seen."

Which leads me to - universal garbage collection.  I will not attempt to defend the pitiful way this program was established, but I will defend the benefits to Clay Hill.  Imagine several hundred pick-up trucks loaded to the hilt with bags of garbage, or worse, open trash cans, heading down 218 to the local "dump" - aka Environmental Convenience Center (ECC).  A recipe for disaster.  Every weekend - and I do mean EVERY weekend - there would be at least a few, and often more than several full bags of garbage on the side of the road, along with all the litter you could ask for.  One weekend, I picked up 8 full bags of garbage.

I would often find mail with an address, write an anonymous nasty-gram to the lazy POS who deposited the trash on MY roadway, and send them a not-so-nice letter asking that they grow some self-respect and get rid of their trash properly.

Since universal collection, garbage bags on the side of the road (218 W. at least) have virtually completely stopped.  Maybe one bag every 6 to 8 weeks.  Truthfully.

I know this program has "stinks" written all over it to some people, but I am a HUGE fan of the program.  I was one of the 65% of people in Clay County who already voluntarily paid for garbage collection, so it was no big deal to me.  Now that the trashy people who were too lazy to dispose of their trash properly now can have it picked up at their "curb" (not too many of those in Clay Hill), Clay Hill is most definitely cleaner.  The litter is still a horrible eyesore, but at least it's not accompanied by full bags of garbage lining the road for dogs/raccoons/etc to spread all along 218.

I, like many of you, stop and pick up trash from time to time.  I taught my kids not to be SCUMBAG litterbugs, and now my grandkids get the lecture, and the example I set for them.  That's how we deal with the problem.  Education, and peer pressure.  A little help from the Sheriff's Dept. writing an occasional citiation for littering would help to. 

I agree with what Pres. of the jacksonville City Council, Daniel Davis, said recently.  "If you expect the government to solve your problems, you are going to be disappointed."  More government action requires - more government money.

Anyone ready to pay a "litter tax?"  I didn't think so.  Better teach your kids right, and harass your neighbor when you see them littering.  To me, it's all about personal responsibility.  Something too many people have way too little of.

My pet peeve is a filter cigarette butt.  Those things seem to take decades to decompose.  How about a law that prohibits the manufacture of filtered cigarettes.  I can't imagine some of those young women and men smoking a Camel or Pall Mall.    The wanna be smokers would quit.  That is a win-win idea.  Curtail smoking and litter all with one law.

When I grew up people rolled their own cigarettes, and the butts simply burned up and or disintegrated.  I know I just dated myself with that one.

I'm on the island, but not with a butt... 

Litter and trash

One Law that is a few years old has added to the problem of littering, can anyone guess what Law I’m talking about? It is more pronounced after the weekend, and the litter is usually packaged in boxes and cartons. Some people keep me in coolers, what am I??

She would be the one to thank for the trash pickup on 218 along with some weekenders or inmate labor from the Sheriff's dept. She has pushed getting this done. Hard hats on Commissioner at work.

Public Works will back up the statement 218 is the most trashed road in Clay County, with or without our garbage pickup.

Next in line after the people who are not responsible enough to properly dispose of their own trash. ADS comes to mind and we are forced to pay for that bad service.

No, I would not pay for a litter tax. I am forced to pay for a garbage fee and they don't do that good. Inmates don't work for free and cost the taxpayers money too. I think they have abolished slavery so they cost money.

People need to take personal responsiblity.

I remember when the Jaguars first came to Jacksonville and they played the Miami Dolphins. The most comments concerning Jacksonville was not how the game was played. Not how nice the stadiums was built. But how trashy the city and surrounding areas were up here. Sad but true.

Clay County's trashy problem is a cultural thang borne from generations of residents who didn't see anything wrong with putting the trash, well, wherever was convenient.  Heck, didn't we even have a government scandal along those same lines?

Not to harp on Tifton, but, heck, it was THE Cleanest City in the country ... the folks there bought into the idea that everybody doing just a little extra (and it's not all that different from what most Clay County folks do) by disposing of trash properly made a huge difference.  And it didn't take long for them to see the rewards of their small efforts combined with the small efforts of their fellow citizens.

Until that happens here, Bax, you keep writing those nasty-grams when you find an address.  Islander - rolling your own?  Geez, do they still make Pall Malls?  Winn, I would have expected a rolling your own comment to be from you.

Michael S. Mann

You have to take pride in where you live and want to make it a better place, and be willing to use some good old elbow grease to make it happen. Yakking about it never did anything. There is some merit in your cultural thang comment. I will offend people here, but, this is so true. This statement came from a state elected official so here it comes.

PG RATED BELOW, easily offended people stop reading now! Good bye! Close the window NOW!

"You can't polish a turd, all you do is get it on your hands." The older I get, the more I see that statement as profound.

If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

PS Bax: I know what a clean city Tifton is. I loved their old style Christmas lights in the 80's and 90's. Too bad they now have those pole things. When you drove highway 82 from Waycross (when it was two lane) all 70 miles to Tifton, the Christmas lights were a dazzling and welcome sight. I worked for a company based out of Tifton for several years. I made the trip from Fernandina to Tifton quite often. I somehow had to supplement my meager teacher income. In fact, in 35 years of teaching, I have never just been a teacher. I have always had a second, and sometimes third job, and it didn't kill me. In fact it made me a much better person. I still work two jobs, but then, I need to as I live on

- The Island