Service club and scouts team up to tidy up

Story and photos contributed by Ron Beeber.

PENTWATER — The Pentwater Service Club, assisted by several boy scouts from local Troop 1145, picked up litter along US-31 between Monroe and Wayne roads Thursday, July 16.

The volunteers were among 2,800 groups in West Michigan and across the state participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program this past week. Three times a year, crews clean some 6,400 miles of Michigan highways.

“It’s hard to understand why someone would toss trash anywhere,” said Club President Ron Christians. “But it’s really upsetting to find debris along this beautiful stretch of highway where we’re all so proud to live and vacation.”

“The Service Club adopted this stretch of US-31 almost 20 years ago,” said  club member Bill Maxwell. “Our members really enjoy this particular project, which — as the club’s tagline says – helps make a great place even better.”

The Michigan Department of Transportation says that just about any group of at least three people is eligible to adopt a highway. Volunteers must be a minimum of 12 years old. Youth between the ages of 12-17 must have adult supervision at a ratio of one adult for every three children. For more information, visit michigan.gov/mdot or serviceclub.org.