2022 Musings from the ditches:

Congratulations Bruce Crumb on your retirement after 40 years with the South Dakota DOT. Back on January 5th, 2010, the Department of Transportation revised the provisions of the responsibilities of participants in the Adopt-A-Highway Program. This was updated Form DOT-295A. Among several new provisions was that we contact our local DOT prior to each time we would clean the ditches. For me that contact was Bruce Crumb at the Canton DOT Maintenance Shop.

When I called to give our Spring notification this year, a fella named Shane answered and shared the happy news that Bruce had retired. Thanks for 40 years of service to our State and in particular to maintaining the very roads that we as car enthusiasts enjoy.

Thanks Lola and Roger for your quick thinking and doing. Fate brought them together with a crazy price of 75 cents apiece for a dozen or so high-quality safety vests. Our crew will be sporting only the best gear this year and they even have pockets. No more carrying that extra garbage bag in the small of your back, just stash it in a pocket.

This Spring we had a good harvest of trash. Last Fall, some trash was uncollectable due to high vegetation growth. When we departed our ditches this past May 14th, they were spotless.

Ironic fun fact. A combination of an old rotting wooden signpost and a 100-mph wind yields a litter control sign as litter.

The Corvette Club’s Adopt-A-Highway sign in the northwest ditch was snapped at the ground. I texted Shane at the DOT and he was hopeful to have it repaired by May 20th.

The morning’s finder keeper was Joyce. Joyce was working the South mile team with the other ladies. While cleaning up the remains of an apparent automobile collision at the South intersection, something caught her eye. Imagine her fascination in finding what could be a wedding band or a friendship ring? What was its story? How did it get there? I badgered Joyce into stopping by our friends at Riddle’s Jewelry to check out the stones. Turns out the stones are pretty, just not precious.

Our cleanup crew was greeted afterward with a large taco pizza, a large works, and refreshments back at Dareo’s Pizza.

This would be a good time to thank the folks that walked a mile this Spring to fulfill our Club’s commitment to the DOT. I’m very confident they aren’t just doing it for free pizza and beer. I along with my wife Kathy were joined by Deb, John, and Jason Kladstrup and Joyce and Harold VanDerWilt. Thanks guys, you’re the best, and most fun.

Well that about catches everything up on our adopted ditches. We will be having our Fall cleanup in September or October. Stay tuned.

One more thank you to C & R Supply that so generously allows me to dump all that litter in their dumpsters. That saves me and the State a lot of hassles.

Respectfully submitted,

Dusty Miller