KLVB Alapaha River cleanup at Old State Road in 2007

So if Old State Road to the Alapaha River has, according to the criteria recited by County Engineer Mike Fletcher, “ceased to be used by the public to the extent that no substantial public purpose is served by it”, why did Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB) do a cleanup there in 2007? Is the removal of that section of road “from the county road system… in the public’s best interest”?

Jessica Pope wrote for the VDT 30 September 2007, River cleanup,

Saturday’s Alapaha River cleanup will be held in cooperation with Rivers Alive, a statewide annual volunteer waterway cleanup that targets Georgia’s 70,150 miles of streams and rivers each October, and Hands On Georgia Week 2007, which will culminate on Saturday with Hands on Atlanta Day, the largest volunteer service day in the country. A number of volunteers will spend the day cleaning Georgia’s waterways, building wheelchair ramps, collecting cans of food for Georgia’s food banks and as picking up trash along Georgia’s highways.

Anyone interested in participating in the Alapaha River cleanup Saturday should head on U.S. 84 East past Naylor, turn left on Good Hope Road then turn right on Old State Road. Small boats and canoes are welcome. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., and participation waivers must be signed.

Children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. Boys and girls ages 12 and under will be assigned to the Alapaha River’s bank and trail areas. All participants should wear or bring boots, shoes and clothes they don’t mind getting dirty or wet, bug repellent, trash pokers or long tongs, an emergency phone number and work gloves. Water, soft drinks and T-shirts will be provided following the cleanup while supplies last.

As a landowner myself, I can understand if the landowner requesting closure of the road is concerned about trash on his land, especially after the county’s irresponsible decision to close the waste collection sites. But perhaps a better solution than closing the road might be for the county to take responsibility for coordinating about trash prevention and retrieval with the landowner and those who use that road for access to the Alapaha River?

-jsq