Keep Carter County Beautiful holds second cleanup of the year on Watauga Lake
Published 4:52 pm Wednesday, March 2, 2022
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Photo Contributed Several volunteers of Saturday's Watauga Lake Cleanup prepare to head into the lake to clean up large amounts of trash.
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BY NIC MILLER
STAR STAFF
Members of Keep Carter County Beautiful, the area’s conservation and anti-litter organization, as well as several other volunteers spent their weekend taking part in the organization’s second cleanup event of the year.
On Saturday KCCB took their efforts to the water to clean up parts of Watauga Lake, partnering with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful for the second annual Four-Part Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series.
“When Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, organized the second annual event, she knew she could count on assistance from Keep Carter County Beautiful,” said Keep Carter County Beautiful Chairman Don Hlavaty.
“Eleven hard working volunteers showed up, put on life jackets and water boots, and went to work,” Hlavaty said. “The volunteers spent their Saturday removing trash from five different sites on Watauga Lake including the Little Milligan Boat Ramp and four areas of rugged shoreline.”
And while many volunteers taking part in the cleanup were from Carter County, Hlavaty said that the group also received assistance from a member of the Jonesborough community.
“One of the volunteers joining us in the cleanup was Ashley Cavender of Keep Jonesborough Beautiful,” Hlavaty said. “Ashley is working hard to keep Jonesborough a great place to live and to visit.”
With many hands volunteering, the group was able to remove large amounts of trash from and around the lake.
“Several hundred pounds of Styrofoam dock floats, 23 tires, 21 of which were on rims, and more than 50 bags of trash were removed by this fantastic volunteer crew. The dumpster was so full that the tires and two Styrofoam floats, which weighed approximately 300 pounds each, would not fit,” Hlavaty said.
Hlavaty said that Carter County Landfill Manager Benny Lyons came to the rescue.
“When Benny found out the tires and Styrofoam would not fit in the dumpster, he came to the rescue again. The tires and Styrofoam were removed along with the full dumpster,” Hlavaty said. “Without a method to remove the trash collected, Keep Carter County Beautiful’s events would not be as successful as they are.”
Hlavaty also expressed gratitude to the several volunteers that showed up and were exhausted by the end of the day. “I don’t know what motivates volunteers like these, but I hope to see them again at community cleanup events throughout the year.”
Hlavaty said that there will be several other community cleanup events throughout 2022, and that those interested can keep an eye out for them by visiting www.keepcartercountybeautiful.org and www.keeptnriverbeautiful.org.
