Volunteers found ton of stuff during ‘Help the Hooch’ cleanup

From the walking trails at Heath Park to the banks of the Chattahoochee River at Lake Oliver, a record number of volunteers turned out for the 23rd Annual Help the Hooch cleanup.

Gloria Weston-Smart, executive director of Keep Columbus Beautiful, said almost 12,000 volunteers took part in the Southeast’s largest watershed cleanup over the last two days. After the cleanup, an estimated 2,000 people gathered at Woodruff Park on Bay Avenue for the Watershed Festival for free food, games and music along the riverfront.

“Let me just say that we are so excited about the number of people who volunteered to help us make a difference in this community by making sure we are picking up trash and protecting this watershed that is our lifeline,” Weston-Smart Smart said Saturday.

Shortly before 9 a.m., students from St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School in Columbus and Girl Scout Troop 50105 joined Councilor Mike Baker of District 5 to pick up trash during a hike around the lake at Heath Park.

Sheree Bailey, leader of the troop , said the girls have been part of the cleanup for 15 years. She brought 10 girls from different area schools to walk the path.

In the park, Bailey said the discarded items haven’t changed over the years. “Lots of cigarettes butts, candy wrappers, stuff like that,” she said. “We found over the years, tires and stuff we won’t mention.”

There are also shoes, clothing, and even dental floss to clean your teeth, Bailey said. “It’s a whole list of stuff , we find,” she said.

Riley Mullen, 13, couldn’t figure out why people would litter with a trash can nearby. “I am actually doing something worth a cause,” she said. “I don’t know why they do this.”

Caitlyn Quaale, a fifth-grader at St. Anne-Pacelli, said the cleanup gives her a chance to get off the couch and help the outdoors. “ It makes me proud and happy I can get here and help my troop,” she said.

At Lake Oliver, more than a dozen Northside High School students with the National Honor Society picked up discarded roofing shingles, an air conditioner and plenty of trash along the banks of the lake.

“We have 10 bags of trash, maybe more,” said Alexis Ervin. “We found a ton of stuff.”

Anna Carroll, senior and president of the National Honor Society at Northside, said the group didn’t expect to find as much trash because Northside High is at the site for the annual cleanup . “It makes you feel good,” she said of the effort.

Some students were scarred from stepping in bushes along the banks and had dark mud caked on their ankles. Austin Fitts hauled the dumped window air conditioner up the bank and Emily Pruitt took an arm load of dumped shingles.

Weston-Smart wasn’t surprised about the discarded items. “We believe that through the night people get up and just go dumping,” she said. “It is amazing. I was told today they found a suitcase in the river that still had clothes in it. Car parts, tires, those are some of the things they found.”

As part of the cleanup, officials also collected household hazardous waste, old shoes and shredded personal papers from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at No. 25 22nd Ave. behind the Summit gas station on Victory Drive.

Fran Fluker, a volunteer for Keep Columbus Beautiful, said vehicles were lined up 30 minutes before the collection started. “Lots of shoes came in and a tremendous number of people with pickups full with rusty cans of paints,” she said.

Residents also had plenty of boxes of personal papers to shred. “It’s just a great opportunity to get rid of 10-year old tax documents,” she said.

By 10:30 a.m., Fluker said the center already had served 300 vehicles. She expected the number to exceed the average of 600 vehicles if they continued until the end.

If you miss the shoe collection, Fluker said residents can take them to any of the fire stations that are collecting them. “It keeps them out of the landfill,” she said.

At the festival on the river, Weston-Smart said the celebration was held to thank all the volunteers who got out of bed to pick up litter. “People just throw things out on our roadways and in our yards,” she said. “ People need to take on their responsibility to not do that. It impacts our environment in a very negative way. People come back year after year because they want to make a difference in this community. “

Volunteers were treated to free hotdogs, drinks and chips along with face painting and games for the children.

This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Volunteers found ton of stuff during ‘Help the Hooch’ cleanup."