Be Seen Going Green

The town of Boone invites all citizens to participate in the annual Boone Clean-up Day Saturday, Sept. 22.

The Sept. 22 event is in conjunction with the statewide Fall Litter Sweep, proclaimed by Gov. Beverly Perdue. The Litter Sweep spans a two-week period from Sept. 15 to 29.

Any individual, group or civic organization is encouraged to participate by volunteering to remove the unsightly litter that has accumulated along our streets and streams during the summer. Town of Boone residents may participate by cleaning their premises, placing rubbish curbside and calling the Public Works Department for free removal.

The town of Boone will also be awarding monetary prizes to the winners of the Most Unusual Litter Contest. Participants may enter the contest by bringing unusual litter found on the roadsides and in the streams within the city limits to the Boone Public Works Center on the event day. Town staff will have refreshments on hand at Public Works from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Interested participants may come by the Boone Public Works Center, located at 321 W. King St., between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to pick up clean-up supplies the day of or beforehand.

For more information and to register for the event, contact Boone’s Adopt-A-Street/Stream/Flowerbed coordinator Shannon Isaacs at (828) 268-6230.

Statewide, during the 2012 spring Litter Sweep, volunteers removed more than 1.5 million pounds of roadside litter, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Additionally, the N.C. State Highway Patrol will be on alert and policing the roads for motorists with unsecured loads and others that intentionally and unintentionally litter. Littering is an illegal offense, and the Highway Patrol issues more than 1,500 citations annually for unsecured loads and littering. Upon conviction, a defendant can be fined up to $2,000, receive a point on their driver license and be sentenced to community service work. Fines can double upon a second conviction.