We all know any action done regularly can have big results. It’s true for our selves, our marriages, our businesses, and governments.
The steady flow of the Colorado River eventually carved the Grand Canyon.
For the past two years, Shawn Litchfield has walked East Edan Road with garbage bags and a picker, collecting trash others throw from their cars.
When one of my staff members made photos of Shawn in action – later put into his nomination for Keep Tennessee Beautiful’s “Love Where You Live” award – one of the items he carefully pulled from the roadside grass was a straw.
Whether or not Shawn wins the statewide award, I want to honor him for the incredible job he is doing for Lawrence County. His road passes through beautiful countryside and his work lets us see it clearly. We’re usually forced to look past trash of all kinds to see our best assets.
Shawn came to the attention of our Solid Waste Department because they were picking up an unusual number of garbage bags on East Edan Road. After they found out why, they visited Shawn with a collection of (anti-trash themed) t-shirts and trash collection bags to replace the ones his family had been buying.
We have other good news from that Department. We are building our first convenience center on two acres donated by the city of Loretto near its wastewater treatment plant. We are also working to find the right property in the Summertown area for a permanent convenience center there.
Last week we received a grant to buy a new “pick line” for the Transfer Station. It’s a conveyor belt system that carries mixed recyclables past inmates who sort the materials and place like-kinds in nearby dumpsters. When a dumpster is full, it’s replaced by an empty one. The same grant is supplying 16 of those small, rolling dumpsters, which will replace our broken ones and provide a few badly-needed extras.
In the first quarter of this year we will officially introduce Keep Lawrence County Beautiful, which is now part of the Keep Tennessee Beautiful organization. It will depend on citizen involvement to succeed, and I’m counting on a lot of help. I think I know someone on East Edan Road who will want to be involved.
