Driving through Columbus city limits Saturday morning, passersby saw groups of citizens in neon colors picking up trash on the side of the road.
City council members each led initiatives in their respective wards beginning at 8 a.m., meeting volunteers at designated spots to hand out trash grabbers and bags. From there each group dispersed to pick up litter.
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene was at the Tuscaloosa Road and West Lehmberg Road intersection. He said a lot of the trash isn’t just from people littering intentionally; it often comes from trash in the back of trucks that gets picked up by the wind.
“It’s mainly the public roads that no one picks up,” Greene said. “A lot of people pick up their own stuff in front of their house. … It looks so bad, and we make such a great difference this one day. It’s hard and hot, but it sure improves the community.”
The ward-by-ward trash pick-up, known as “Pick It Up Possum Town,” is a semiannual event that typically takes place in the spring and fall, Greene said.
Groups such as Body Builders Ministries, Jackson State University alumni and Last House on the Block volunteered their time to clean the city. Individuals, like mother-daughter pair Melissa and Kathryn McKinney, came out to help, too.
Melissa said she came out with her daughter to help teach her about the importance of community service.
“It feels good to help the community out,” said Katherine, a student at Caledonia High. “It also overrides that image that Columbus has – that I can do something good, be a good person and help out. It’s kind of fun, very therapeutic.”
The McKinney duo was representing their church – United Christian Church. Eventually, Melissa would like to see church youth groups adopt sections of road to help keep clean.
“With the city only doing it twice a year, it might be a good idea to adopt a neighborhood by church and have a youth clean-up day to keep it clean throughout the year,” Melissa said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion