COMMUNITY

Bonner County Democrats celebrate Earth Day with cleanup

By Reader Staff

Bonner County Democrats turned out April 22 for Earth Day with a successful highway cleanup event — the first of two yearly cleanup efforts. The group has maintained a one-mile stretch of Highway 95 in Sagle since 2006. This year, the spring cleanup attracted nearly two dozen volunteers, an increase over previous years.

“I’m so glad to see members of our community come out to help maintain it,” said Bonner County Democrats Chairperson Linda Larson. “That’s what we’re all about, really: community. This is our home, we love living here and we want to do our part to help take care of it.”

The weather was good for the event and, after a brief safety and organization meeting, volunteers broke into groups to spread out over both sides of the highway to fill orange-colored trash bags provided by the Idaho Transportation Department for collection. Volunteers collected cigarette butts, broken glass, plastic, metal and a variety of other debris from the shoulder as well as the bike path on the east side of the highway.

Organizer Cheryl McKee said of the event, “Thanks to all the local Democrats who generously donated a part of their Saturday to help make this happen. We filled 35 bags this year, and it was very impressive to see all the orange driving back up 95.”

The group intends to continue to maintain this stretch of the highway, and is planning a second community cleanup event at City Beach in July.