4/29/2015
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
REMINDER: 2.5 million lbs. of litter removed by Adopt-a-Highway program
Note: Tomorrow, April 30, marks the 25th anniversary of the program. The district program coordinators listed at the bottom of this release can help identify long-standing participants in each media region.
BOISE - Idaho roadsides owe a debt of thanks to the state's Centennial Celebration a quarter-century ago.
A program was created 25 years ago in the anti-litter fervor of the statewide “Idaho is too great to litter” campaign, spurred on by then-Gov. Andrus. On April 30, 1990, the department introduced the Adopt-a-Highway program to help keep Gem State roadsides clean.
Click here for 25th anniversary logo.
Through
the program, volunteer groups “adopt” a specific stretch of highway —
usually two miles long — and take responsibility for keeping it clean
through regular litter patrols. Each group commits to conducting
multiple clean-up efforts per year.
One of the earliest participants in the program was Boy Scout Troop 94, who adopted a two-mile stretch of Idaho 55 north from Shadow Valley Golf Course just outside of Boise on the way toward Horseshoe Bend. The twice-annual clean ups occur typically in May and again in October/November.
Click Here for Photo 1, Photo 2 and Photo 3 of Troop 94. Click here for the "Idaho is too great to litter" sign, and here for the Adopt-a-Highway logo.
Here's Photo 1 and Photo 2 of another Adopt-a-Highway group in action off Idaho 21.
The
troop’s roster averages around 40 scouts and they have conducted
highway cleanups with as little as eight scouts and up to 30 scouts.
“The
boys always find something interesting — car emblems, deer carcasses,
snake skins, beer and pop cans, trash, and, of course, lots of golf
balls near the golf course,” said Ina Jaszkowiak (pronounced Jazz koe
vee ack), committee member and former den leader.
“When my son,
Mark, led the Highway Cleanup for his Life Project in May 2013, the
participants gathered 25 bags and two huge boxes of trash. The guys were
most proud of the 192 golf balls they collected. Some of the balls were
even on the far side of the highway from the golf course,” she added.
When the scouts turned in the balls at Shadow Valley Golf Course, the manager treated them to free fountain drinks.
“At
a recent cleanup, we were plodding along at the end of a long morning,
and I spied something in the bushes,” said Jaszkowiak. “It was a very
good quality rod and reel worth almost $200! Since a scout is honest, I
ran a lost-and-found ad on Craigslist for several weeks to find the
owner. No one responded to the ad, and so we had a drawing to pair the
rod with a new ‘fishing buddy.’
Everyone who had helped with
the Highway Cleanup was entered into the drawing. When we drew the
winner's name, he couldn't believe his good luck. Another boy on that
outing found a $10 bill, and since it was impossible to find the true
owner of cash, he got to keep it.”
Greg Daggett, Troop Committee
Member and Life Project Coach, figures that they spent about 3,500 hours
cleaning the highway during the 25 years they’ve been involved. Daggett
said Troop 94 utilizes the highway cleanup program to provide practical
leadership experience to the scouts.
As one of the scouts wrote
in his Activity/Outing Permission Form, the effort serves to “reinforce
with scouts and parents the importance of community service.”
Over
the years, the Adopt-a-Highway program has accounted for more than a
thousand tons of trash picked up from Idaho’s roadsides, amounting to
millions of dollars in savings that were then re-directed to highway
construction and needed maintenance to improve highway safety and
driving conditions.
ITD estimates that the program saves about
$750,000 annually — in 25 years that added up to nearly $19 million.
More than 2.5 million lbs. of trash and debris have been removed from
Idaho’s roadsides through the program, including the trash pick-up
efforts of inmate crews through the Department of Corrections.
There
are more than 1,000 active volunteer groups participating in the
statewide program. More than half of Idaho’s highways have been adopted.
However, there are still many opportunities for other groups and
individuals to get involved. About 30 percent of the roadsides on the
state’s highway system are available for adoption.
For more information about the Adopt-a-Highway program, contact the area coordinator, listed below:
District 1 Coordinator Coeur d’Alene Andrea Littlefield, 208 772-1238
District 2 Coordinator Lewiston Shane Niemela, 208 799-5090
District 3 Coordinator Boise Janet Gregory, 208 334-8350
District 4 Coordinator Shoshone Joyce Shaw, 208 886-7871
District 5 Coordinator Pocatello Sharon Short, 208 239-3300
District 6 Coordinator Rigby Todd Grover, 208 745-5631