The Little Juniata River Association once again conducted its annual Little Juniata River Cleanup Day.
Now in its third year, the cleanup was deemed a success by participants.
The goal of this event is to remove as much trash as possible, large or small, from in and along the river.
This includes roadside pullouts and the riverbanks.
This weekend over 80 people braved the chilly Saturday morning weather to take part in the cleanup, which is organized in conjunction with the Great PA Cleanup and National River Cleanup.
More trash than ever before was collected at this year’s cleanup.
Scout troops, church youth groups, Penn State students, river bank landowners and friends of the river gathered to clear tons of trash and tires from the river and its banks.
Even Senator John Eichelberger, along with Blair and Huntingdon County staff members, pitched in to help.
Participants met at the Spruce Creek United Methodist Church and were given gloves, bags, and safety vests. They then split into groups along the river to remove the debris.
Tyrone Rotary Club members participated in the event, clearing the river from Ironville upstream to the Pennsylvania Avenue bridge in Tyrone.
This year, for the first time, PennDOT disposed of all the trash and tires collected, free of charge.
A special thanks also goes out to The Spruce Creek United Methodist Church, aided by the Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church men, for preparing lunch for all the participants.
The church provided donuts and hot drinks while Gallikers Dairy, Tasty Kake and the Spruce Creek Tavern also contributed to the meal.
“This was the third year the Little Juniata River Association and the Tyrone Rotary teamed up to clean up the Little Juniata River banks and roadsides from Tyrone to Spruce Creek,” said Little Juniata River Association President Bill Anderson.
He added this is the first year the group was able to add the river banks and pulloffs between Rothrock State Park and the Rt. 305 bridge below Alexandria.
“While some of the most visible areas had less trash than last year, we are still disappointed to see that some people still look upon the Little Juniata River as a trash dump.”
Anderson said in order to keep a higher level of cleanliness year round, the LJRA has just adopted the roadway between Spruce Creek and Shaffer’s Salvage in PennDOT’s “Adopt a Highway Program”.
“Our profound wish is that our annual cleanup becomes unnecessary and we can turn it into an annual picnic celebrating the Little ‘j’ instead,” said Anderson.
Anyone interested in joining the LJRA can visit www.littlejuniata.org or call Bill Anderson at 684 5922.
