Carter County Proud has opened up an opportunity for citizens looking to get involved and say no to litter.
In conjunction with the second annual Earth Day Celebration, the group is hosting a Cleanup Event of the Tweetsie Trail beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, at the Lions Field parking lot in the city.
“This is an event we’ve received a lot of support for,” CCP founder Ed Jordan said. “Anybody that wants to participate can meet at Lions Field that morning and we’ll walk the trail and clean up the area and raise awareness for people to stop littering.”
Members of the public are encouraged to make signs with catchy phrases and display them while walking the trail before concluding the walk near Covered Bridge Park – the site of the Earth Day Celebration.
Jordan added that gloves, water and trash bags will be available for participants.
During last week’s group meeting, Milligan College pledged their support for the idea, according to Jordan, and it was a welcome sight to see.
The partnership could also net an intern for the group if an affiliation with Keep America Beautiful comes to fruition. Jordan added he’s encouraging supporters of the initiative to voice their support to the executive board of the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the program under their umbrella.
“The Keep America Beautiful leaders have told us many times this program works best under the direction of the Chamber of Commerce,” Jordan said. “Please petition them before Thursday at noon, we will be meeting with them to vote on this initiative.”
If the partnership comes to fruition, the group would become Keep Carter County Beautiful. Jordan added that Milligan pledged the support of an intern if the partnership comes through and that grant opportunities would be available to help beautify the region.
The initiative cost to be absorbed has already been covered with County Commission electing to commit $2,000 of a $4,000 price tag while the city will cover the other half at the request of Mitch Miller with the Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership group.
Jordan added the group had a successful question-and-answer session with Justyn Markland of the county’s code enforcement department.