Adopt-A-Highway 2026 Spring Report

At the April Club meeting it was announced that Saturday May 2^nd would be the date for this year’s Adopt-A-Highway Spring cleanup. A signup sheet for volunteers willing to commit to help was passed around at meeting. At 9:15 we gathered in the parking lot of Dareo’s Pizza, signed waivers, donned safety vests, and reviewed the rules.

For those who have never participated before, it is at this point that the group splits into a North team and a South team. Kathy transports the South team in our truck and I solicit a lift to the North ditches. This year Paul Dyke was kind enough to give the North team a lift in his new Ford Bronco. Thanks Paul, for the transportation and introduction to your sweet ride. Eight of us departed for our ditches promptly at 9:30 in two vehicles.

With two people in each of our four ditches we all walked a mile to the South picking up litter. It was a comfortable sunny 60 degree day and a bit breezy. Walking conditions were ideal with no standing water and short vegetation. The litter load was noticeably less than previous Spring cleanups. I suggest that with a lack of snow cover this Winter, the prevailing winds caused some of our trash to end up in the fields to the Southeast.

Kathy invoked the “you can keep what you find” rule to repurpose a plastic ice cream bucket to replace a cracked one in her cleaning equipment inventory at home.

North team took both vehicles to rejoin with the South team and take the obligatory group picture next to our litter crew sign. Both vehicles were on the road headed back to Dareo’s at 11:00. A call from Kathy to our new waitress, Nichole, made for a table set and waiting and pizzas coming out of the oven on our arrival. Larry had to eat and run, the Club picked up the tab for our pizza and drinks and we adjourned at noon.

Our Club takes the trash we collect and disposes of it in the dumpsters at C&R Supply. This eliminates the need for State employees out of the Canton D.O.T. shop to drive up and collect it. Thank you C&R, it really makes the waste disposal more efficient.

Our crew was made up of veteran cleanup volunteers, which is not surprising at all considering our Club has been doing this twice a year for over three decades. I would encourage any newer members to try and make one of the upcoming cleaning opportunities so you can also be considered a veteran good deed doer. The following good deed doers showed up this Spring to fulfill our Club’s commitment to the SD Adopt-A-Highway program: Patti Bruggeman, Joyce VanDerWilt, Larry Mortensen, Joe Bruggeman, Paul Dyke, John Pesicka, Dusty Miller, and Kathy Miller.

Respectfully submitted,

Dusty Miller