“Make it shine like a pearl” will be the theme in Pearl River County next weekend as members of the Board of Supervisors hold the first county cleanup day of the year.
From 8 a.m. to noon on March 25, volunteers are asked to don safety vests and set out across the county to pick up litter and other waste.
Led by District I Supervisor Donald Hart, the county will supply garbage bags and gloves for all volunteers. Several pick up and drop off locations have been designated, including most volunteer fire departments.
Hart was motivated to create the county wide event after seeing a young woman picking up garbage in his neighborhood.
Abby Chatelain has been picking up litter along her street in the Ponderosa Subdivision since she moved there in 2010.
“In this neighborhood, people just throw garbage out the window,” she said. “It didn’t look as pretty as it did when I lived in the country.”
So every day she heads out along her street to pick up cans, cigarette butts, paper and other waste.
“She’s been out here picking up since before I got in office,” Hart said. “Every day, whether I’m heading to work for the county or at the shop, I see her picking up stuff.”
Chatelain may say she only goes three or four houses down, but Hart said he has seen her picking up other people’s litter all the way down the street.
Along the way she has met a number neighbors and community members; some stopped to thank her for her efforts, she said.
Recently, Hart gave Chatelain one of the county’s trash grabbers to make her daily task a little bit easier.
After just few days, she said it’s made all the difference.
Other residents have joined the cause. Now, other supervisors report that residents in their neighborhood have been spotted picking up garbage during their walk.
While the trash may reappear in just a few days, Chatelain said she always goes back out to keep her street looking nice.
“I’m really excited to have other people just as excited as I am,” she said about the county cleanup day.
Pick up and drop off locations for next Saturday’s event include:
-J.P. Johnson Park, 506 Rosa St., Picayune
-Leola Jordan Park, 911 East Canal St., Picayune
-Nicholson Volunteer Fire Department, 2776 Jackson Landing Road, Picayune
– Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department, 86 Pine Grove Road, Picayune
– Southeast Volunteer Fire Department, 654 F.Z. Goss Road, Picayune
– Henleyfield Volunteer Fire Department, 5583 Highway 43 North, Picayune
– Carriere Volunteer Fire Department, 7414 Highway 11, Carriere
– Northeast Volunteer Fire Department, 462 Hillsdale Gumpond Road, Lumberton
-North Central Volunteer Fire Department, 1089 Spring Hill Road, Poplarville
– Derby/Whitesand Volunteer Fire Department, 28, Robert James Road, Poplarville
-Steephollow Volunteer Fire Department, 2380 Highway 54 South, Poplarville
-Poplarville Fire Department, 1390 S. Main Street, Poplarville
For more information, call the county at 601-403-2300.