Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful (KCNB) needs volunteers to clean up roadside litter during the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest annual community improvement program. KCNB’s kickoff event will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 28 at Longhorn Steakhouse of Covington, rain or shine.

Mamie’s Kitchen Biscuits, Brown Bridge Road location, is providing biscuits for volunteers. Longhorn Steakhouse will provide bottled water, and KCNB will provide T-shirts (for the first 750 registrants), gloves and garbage bags.

“The Great American Cleanup offers an opportunity to bring greater awareness to the litter problem, while also stressing the need for prevention and working toward a solution,” KCNB Director Laurie Riley said. “KCNB is aware of the litter in our community, and we know that a clean community is vital to economic development.”

More than 1,300 volunteers in Newton County participated in Great American Cleanup litter cleanup and educational programs last year and removed over 50,000 pounds of trash from alongside local roadways.

“We’ve received many calls about the amount of trash on roads around the community. When we get requests for trash pickup, the local roads are added to a list for County inmate workers to clean.” Riley said. “Usually, there are one or two inmate worker crews picking up trash on County roads. State roads are added to a list for the D.O.T., which oversees a couple of state inmate crews that clean up along state highways in our region. Due to budget cuts, litter pickup is a lower priority for the D.O.T., and state crews are not out as often. All inmates must meet certain criteria to be able to work on the details. Also, a guard has to go out with each detail. By law, these work details can’t go out if the weather is too cold or rainy. In the summer, they can’t go out if it’s too hot. So, our largest resource for trash pickup remains our local volunteers.”

KCNB encourages individuals, families, civic clubs, and business, church, neighborhood, school, and other groups to organize volunteers for projects at their individual sites and along local roads. Suggested activities include litter pickup, painting and repairing houses and other buildings, planting flowers, starting recycling programs, and holding litter-free events.

Groups can choose to clean up anywhere they’d like, but KCNB has a list of suggested roads that receive the most frequent citizen requests for litter pickup. These include Salem Road/Highway 162 and the 162 Connector; Highways 36, 81, 212, and 142; Brown Bridge Road; Henderson Mill Road; and Covington Bypass Road.

KCNB visits schools, civic clubs, and other groups with litter prevention programs. Their most popular program, the Detective Seymore Green puppet show, is available March through May. The organization’s goal is to inspire positive behavior change through acceptance of personal responsibility for a clean and beautiful community. To schedule a puppet show performance or another environmental education program designed for your group, please email newtonclean@co.newton.ga.us.

Volunteers for the Great American Cleanup can print out forms by going to www.kcnb.biz. They can scan and email completed forms to newtonclean@co.newton.ga.us or fax them to 770-784-2082.

Registration is requested by March 18 to reserve t-shirts, which are offered free to the first 750 registrants.

Registration forms will not be available after March 18, but walk-up participants will be welcome at Longhorn on March 28. Also, if volunteers are unavailable to work on Saturday, March 28, they may participate on another date of their choice. If it rains on March 28, KCNB will still meet volunteers to give them supplies and breakfast at Longhorn, but volunteers can reschedule their cleanup projects for other days when the weather is more suitable.

After groups participate in the Great American Cleanup, KCNB encourages them to “Adopt-a-Mile”. Groups that commit to clean up 4 times per year along one mile of road, street, or highway get a sign--free advertising--erected recognizing their efforts.

For more information, visit KCNB’s website: www.kcnb.biz, send email to newtonclean@co.newton.ga.us, or call 770-784-2015.