Clean Community Partnership continues on a positive path expanding its services around the lake. CCP founder and Lake Martin Resource Association president John Thompson’s ultimate goal is to keep clean the whole highway circling the lake.
Adding a piece of that puzzle to regularly scheduled cleanups, CCP will host a cleanup day at 8 a.m. Thursday. Volunteers are encouraged to meet and park at Table 34 restaurant off County Road 34.
“No. 1, this is needed,” Thompson said. “There are some real problems in that area with litter on those highly traveled roads such as (Highway) 49, 34 and so forth.”
CCP has started efforts in the Dadeville area and Thompson said Highways 34 and 49 are main arteries into town the same way Highway 63 is headed into Alexander City.
“It’s important they get some cleanup activity going on a regular basis,” Thompson said. “We’re got a group that hopefully will show up and take initiative to show up and keep it going on a regular basis.”
LMRA will provide bags, pickers, orange vests and water and volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves and wear long-sleeved shirts and closed-toed shoes.
This extra effort is in addition to the regularly scheduled Third Saturdays of the month in Alex City and First Saturdays of the month in Dadeville.
“We’re hoping the First Saturday effort out of Dadeville will extend out onto 49 and hopefully down into the community on County Road 34,” Thompson said.
The primary reason Thompson and volunteers are pursuing this area is to provide aesthetically pleasing roadways for Labor Day weekend visitors.
“We didn’t want to interfere with the First Saturday effort but we wanted to get something started; get some volunteers to get involved and be a part of that continuing effort,” Thompson said.
The hope is to develop a similar format to the new Pride Drive 63 effort sponsored by Russell Lands on Lake Martin in Alex City.
“The ambitions would be to have the adoption and participation similar to Pride Drive, so what we can at least get that intent out there,” Thompson said.
Pride Drive 63’s format equates to Treasured Mile program in which volunteers take ownership of certain roadways.
“They certainly may not be able to do what Ben Russell has done over here because no one owns that much of the property but they can certainly regular keep the litter picked up,” Thompson said. “That is heavily traveled and littered highway.”
