Community effort to clean highway

A group of dedicated local citizens took it upon themselves to clean along Highway 70 between Graeagle and Portola on May 20.

Caitlin Comstock of Clio spearheaded the effort. All told, 14 volunteers spent eight hours each, removing almost 65 30-gallon bags of trash and other large pieces of debris.

The local Caltrans Maintenance Station in Beckwourth assisted the group by providing a safety orientation, loaning protective safety gear, bags and litter pickers, and disposing of the trash.

Comstock had this to say about the group’s efforts, “I chose to put a cleanup crew together for the stretch of Highway 70 between Portola and Graeagle because too many times we see a problem and automatically say, ‘That’s not my job,’ and we turn the other cheek. We spend too much time talking about the problem, instead of working to solve it. Change starts with me and you. We each have the ability to make a difference and leave this world better, and my hope is that this small effort inspires the next person to want to make a change too.”

To help a community stay clean, contact Saedra Stallings, Adopt-A-Highway coordinator, at 225-3277 for more information about how to get involved.