Local volunteers clean up litter

Volunteers from Friends of Black Butte Ranch picked up litter along four miles of Highway 20 last week, doing their quarterly clearing of rubbish and trash. Preparing for work are Jim Gibbons (left), Harry and Susan Sprang and Lee Kufchak. Photo by Tom Chace

"A Litter Bit Hurts" was one of the best of the public service announcements used several years ago to remind drivers and others not to throw trash from automobiles.

It may have been catchy and it may have helped to reduce litter on our highways and byways. But once the trash has been thrown, somebody has to pick it up.

And that's exactly what four groups from The Friends of Black Butte Ranch did last week as work crews spread out along Highway 20, from one mile west of the Ranch to three miles east, to pick up litter.

Another crew of Black Butte Ranch employees voluntarily did more miles from the Cold Springs cutoff toward Sisters.

"It's one of those things that we started doing years ago and continue to this day," said Lynda Sullivan, organizer of the community volunteer project. "We have about 44 on our total list, though for safety and other reasons each team may have only four workers."

Heading team number one is Jim Gibbons; team two's leader is Dave Sullivan; team three is headed by Philip Blatt and team four is led by Jim Kindorf.

Bob and June Hill have been part of this cleanup operation for "going on 10 years and Bev Gaskin and Harry and Susan Sprang are six to eight year veterans," Lynda Sullivan said.

Each team is assigned a mile along the roadway.

"They drive to the center of their designated mile and work in pairs, two in one direction, two in the other. Then they cross over the highway and work back to opposite the starting point. Each person then walks only a mile total," Sullivan said.

"We've found some interesting things over the years. Jack Croll found a $5 bill one year and I found a man's wallet with all the credit cards and other personal information intact. The money was gone, making you wonder," Sullivan said.

The work day is about two hours long. The crews head out three times a year: in mid-May, after the gravel has been swept up from the winter snowfall; July, at the height of the tourist driving (and littering) season; and late October, before the onset of the winter snows.

Getting out too early in spring can make for rocky conditions.

"Those huge trucks whipping by kick up those volcanic cinders spread by the Oregon Department of Transportation in winter for driving safety. They throw it our way giving us an unpleasant rock bath if we go out too soon in the spring, before its swept up," Sullivan said.

The Litter Patrol does not work in winter because of the road hazard from skidding cars and trucks caused by ice and snow.

Rodger Gabrielson is the assistant to Sullivan. He contacts ODOT and arranges for empty bags. The agency also provides red flags which are placed on "do not touch" items, such as suspicious jars, syringes and hypodermic appliances.

"We generally fill between 30 and 40 bags," Gabrielson said. "When finished, I call ODOT and they send out a truck to pick up the debris and haul it away to where I know not."

ODOT also supplies orange safety vests.

The Sisters Ranger District provides road signs to warn motorists of the working "Litter Crews."

This community project was started by Elven and Doris Anderson, who maintained leadership for six years before moving to Camas, Washington.

"It's been carried on by Friends of Black Butte (Ranch) ever since and we now have more volunteers than we need with an average of 11 for each of our four teams," Sullivan said.

The Black Butte Maintenance Department loans those long-handled "grabbers with the claws on the end for reaching deep into bushes," Sullivan said. "We don't just do the edges of the road but go back into the brush maybe 10 to 20 yards.

"We have an orientation and training session for each new volunteer, required by ODOT," Sullivan said. "There is a video that all must view and certain other ODOT regulations for being out on the highways.

"We all wear leather gloves and sturdy boots as the terrain is rather unsteady. And we always walk and work facing traffic," she said.