BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (AP) - After an earlier weather-related postponement, dozens of volunteers and City of Bluefield workers hit the roads and streets on May 8 for a massive clean-up effort.
City Manager Dane Rideout said six crews were working all around the city as well as the overlook on Rt. 598 and Rt. 52 to Brushfork.
“It’s been an all-over-the-city effort,” Rideout said. “I don’t know what the tonnage is yet, but I’ve already sent two full trash trucks to the landfill.”
Rideout said 29 volunteers from the Four Seasons Recovery Center in Bluefield volunteered to help.
“It really looks good,” he said. “They are doing a great job.”
The clean-up also included Grassy Branch and Cumberland roads, Princeton and Bluefield avenues as well as Maryland Avenue. “We hit all the entrances to the city. We are doing our best to make sure the city looks presentable.”
A dump on Wyoming Street was also cleaned up and a crew picked up trash from the steep bank in front of the overlook, where a couple of rattlesnakes were “kicked over” in the weeds, he said.
Rideout said the clean-ups are ongoing efforts. Another big one was held in February, and keeping the entrances to the city clean is now routine.
But there is a widespread effort to fight litter, he said, that also includes the county and organizations like the Bluewell Improvement Association.
Rideout said the city is working with the county litter control officer and following the lead of the county by installing surveillance cameras in trouble spots.
“We have already caught some people and we are prosecuting them to the fullest letter of the law,” he said. “This is a joint effort with the county.”
The county has also prosecuted several offenders and continues to issue citations. If convicted, the total cost of the fines and fees can be several hundred dollars.
Rideout said it’s difficult to understand why people litter, but it’s not necessarily local residents.
“The majority of folks we have caught are from out of state,” he said. “We want to make sure our citizens report any illegal dumping activity. We are not taking this lightly and we want to send a message that there will be no dumping in our backyard. We are going to keep it clean.”
Rideout said Mercer County Commissioner Greg Puckett also helped.
“He has been at every single one of ours,” he said. “Harold Brewster (a local attorney and community volunteer) also helped. We appreciate their support.”
Skip Crane, president of the Bluewell Improvement Association, said he is grateful for the help.
“The association is forever grateful and appreciative to Bluefield City Manager Dane Rideout and to the Bluefield City Board of Directors for organizing the clean-up along U.S. 52,” Crane said. “Our organization cleaned our area several weeks ago, but due to the high volume of traffic and possible physical danger to the volunteers, we were advised to seek help from The Mercer County Commission, Mercer County Litter Patrol and the City of Bluefield to help us from Kroger in Bluewell to Bluefield State College.”
Crane said all three entities were represented for the effort.
“I am so humbled and overwhelmed at the number of people who showed up to help us this year,” he said, adding that the areas that have previously been cleaned up are staying relatively clean.
“That is progress on this on-going war on litter,” he said.
Crane said volunteers with the Mercer County Day Report Center are returning to clean from the Deliverance Temple to Kroger in Bluewell in a couple of weeks.
“This will be the first time in my life that the roads have been cleaned from Bluefield all the way to the Rock Post Office and from Bluefield to Nemours via Bluewell,” he said. “That is quite an accomplishment. Our out-of-state ATV visitors say our area is cleaner than in North Carolina”
Two of the volunteers had started at the overlook and were working their way down to Rt. 460 on Rt. 598.
Herbert Honaker of Beckley and Jerry Hunt of Meadow Bridge, both residents of Four Seasons Recovery Point, said they enjoy volunteering for local clean-up efforts.
“We found a pool table over the hill,” Honaker said. “You never know what you’ll see.”
“We’ve also helped clean the road in front of the hospital (Bluefield Regional Medical Center),” Hunt said. “We enjoy doing this.”
Honaker agreed.
“It’s good to get outside and help out,” he said.
Rideout said the clean-up was a success.
“I am very pleased,” he said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.