Adopt A Highway

            At each of the monthly Friends meetings there are a variety of decisions to be made.  One of those decisions in January concerns the future of our Adopt A Highway permit.  Three years ago one of our former officers obtained a permit to clean the roadsides of Qualla Road along and through Pocahontas from Spring Run Road on the south to Newby’s Bridge Road on the north.  The permit expires in February.  During the past year we have scheduled a few cleanups in Meetup, but the response has been negligible.

            Some things to consider:  Qualla Road has a lot of traffic, so there is quite a lot of litter and it is not pleasant working on the roadside with so many fast-travelling vehicles.  We have the option of switching to a section of Woodpecker Road, where the litter and traffic are less but the road section length is more.  Picking up litter on Qualla has a direct result of reducing the litter reaching Swift Creek, and the visual impact of cleaner roadsides is greater than on Woodpecker.  Picking up along Woodpecker is less risky at more convenient hours due to the lower traffic and longer sight distances.

            Is this an activity that members of Friends would like to see continued?  We only have so much manpower, and the firewood activities are more critical to the mission of the group.  If we switch to Woodpecker and schedule Saturday morning cleanups alternating with wood-splitting, would members be willing to participate?  Post your thoughts here.

--Ben

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