Baldwin County goes big for Earth Week clean-up

Baldwin County has a litter problem.

Finding people who'll complain about it is easy.

Finding people who'll do something about it, well, that's not easy.

That's what made last Saturday's Keep Milledgeville Baldwin Beautiful Earth  Week clean-up so impressive. Roughly 125 "locals" volunteered to pick up trash and roadside litter around the city and county. The locals were flanked by the Georgia Military College Corps of Cadets, all 200-something of them, as well as a nice-sized group from Georgia College & State University.

This was KMBB's second Earth Week clean-up, and the initiative gained plenty of momentum this year. The Corps of Cadets conquered a large swath of Milledgeville, including Huley Park, Bone Cemetery, Memory Hill Cemetery, parts of downtown, Caraker Avenue, Swint Avenue and down to Central State Hospital...

Although the Corps of Cadets did a lot of the heavy lifting, the number of locals who joined in was the most encouraging part. Tony Fraley and his group from Vaughn Chapel Baptist Church picked up the Duplex City/Grandview Drive area and other neighborhoods. Fraley also gave the invocation at Saturday's lunch, which was sponsored by a number of local businesses...

Three county commission candidates – Pam Peacock, Andrew Stickland and Jay Wright – had teams out on Saturday, picking up Lowe Road, Stembridge Road and Lake Laurel Road, respectively.

Overall, it was a big week for KMBB, which also debuted its first two Adopt-a-Road signs. The Rotary Club has officially adopted the eastern part of Meriwether Road, while realtor Kay McGibony has adopted Log Cabin Road from the new Publix shopping center to John Milledge Academy. The Adopt A Road program is modeled after the Georgia Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway program.

There's no charge for businesses, organizations or government offices wishing to adopt a road, only the promise that they'll gather a crew four times a year to pick up litter along their route. Trash bags and vests are provided. The application form can be found by clicking here...

KMBB was first established roughly 15 years ago before taking a COVID hiatus. The group is gaining momentum and soon will be up to 10 board members. KMBB is an affiliate of the Keep America Beautiful program.

Last Saturday's clean-up was held alongside the Greenway Day & Community Yard Sale, as well as roughly a half-dozen other events during Earth Week. 

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