Spring cleaning

Spring cleaning

Snow, loved by some and loathed by others, benefits us in an unusual way. It covers pounds of trash that has been dumped along the sides of our roads.

Travel 522 north or south, head into Gid Brown or Harris Hollow, meander along any roadside in this county and the eyesore is there. Bottles, diaper boxes, food cartons, piles of cigarette butts — the list is endless — reveal themselves along the roadways.

We supported the bottle bill which would have virtually stopped the littering of bottles and aluminum cans (if you don’t believe it, travel to a state that has wisely enacted this kind of legislation).

The bottle bill was defeated for the umpteenth year in a row by weak General Assembly members who act like employees of the container manufacturing industry.

There is a $500 fine for littering. The chance of getting caught, as can be seen along the roadways, is remote. If the fine were raised to $5000 it might help — it might make a citizen think twice — but the problem would still exist.

To stop litter we must change attitudes. Money is always a good incentive.

Part of Rappahannock’s revenue is derived from visitors who come seeking a tranquil getaway — a place to relax in the country. When they are greeted by a trashy landscape their holiday is spoiled a bit by the awaiting eyesore. Next year’s vacation trip might be to a place that’s a little cleaner.

But the vacationers are often a part of the problem — witness the empty film boxes in the Blue Ridge parkway.

If you litter we ask that you stop the practice now. And if you see someone littering, note their car license number, and report it to the State Police.

There is something else you can do. You can begin now —today — by bombarding the governor and your representatives with letters demanding the implementation of a bottle bill in > 1987. ,

Meanwhile, we might hope.for another snowfall.