District 5 Democrats keep South Peters litter-free
They reached out to Keep Knoxville Beautiful, partnering with a non-profit organization that “works to beautify and improve Knox County through litter prevention, recycling and environmental education.”
More specifically, they began working with the organization’s Adopt-a-Road initiative, as member Janice Spoone helped kickstart the party’s involvement.
“We began this when Gloria Johnson was chair when Obama came into office, so we started with three districts doing Adopt-a-Road,” Spoone said. “I had been trying to get districts to do this, because it involves people. It’s easy; you only spend a couple hours doing it, and it’s a simple, great way to give back to the community.
“But nobody would take in my best friends, and officers would not do this. Finally, I realized this wouldn’t happen unless I just do it. So I started asking different districts to sign up.”
Now, per Spoone, there are 11 active Adopt-a-Roads across Knox County with signs up at each one.
District 5 in Farragut joined the movement a few years ago, as Mali Glazer headed up
their group within the organization.
“Each district was asked to designate someone to take charge of this new effort, and in District 5, I am that person,” Glazer said. “In that role, I contacted the team at KKB to find a suitable unclaimed road to clean.”
“My requirements were safety first and foremost,” she added. “So many roadways don’t have sidewalks or adequate shoulders where volunteers could collect trash safely. It limited the selection of available roads. The
narrow two-lane roads with drop offs on both sides need the ‘love,’ but it’s just too dangerous to ask volunteers to attempt.”
Eventually, she and other members of the group settled on the stretch of South Peters Road that runs from Kingston Pike to Ebenezer.
“We managed to collect plenty of trash off that busily trafficked road,” Glazer said. “We have a core group of volunteers that participate in this Day of Action every quarter, and we have also worked on First Creek cleanup.”
This exceeds the yearly request from Keep Knoxville Beautiful, which asks for a minimum of two cleanups per year.
Glazer’s group has gone beyond that, much to Spoone’s appreciation.
“I don’t really have to remind most of these people to do it,” she said. “They sign up
with Keep Knoxville Beautiful and get a date approved. They do everything themselves, including a little report after they’re done. They do the work.”
