Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Cara Rose, executive director of the Pocahontas Coun-ty Convention and Visitors Bureau, offers information about the second annual “West Virginia Make it Shine Campaign.”
“The West Virginia Make It Shine Campaign is kicking off on Earth Day, which is April 22, running through May 15 this year,” Rose said. “As you may recall, last year the CVB implemented a new roadside clean-up campaign, and we are asking that organizations, groups, non-profits and even individual businesses, sign up to do road clean-up in Pocahontas County during that time period. What we really want to do is foster a litter-free community, and by offering this incentive, we are able to educate our youth about the value of not littering.”
“The CVB will contribute $100 per mile, up to 100 miles, to organizations and non-profits here in the county. For instance, if a 4-H club chooses to clean three miles along Route 39, they record that information, take some pictures and submit that to the CVB, we will contribute $300 back to that organization. If a private business would like to sponsor a section of highway, they do the same thing: they register with the CVB and provide proof of the cleanup, and we will contribute the funds to them. So, it is a way for us to give back to our communities and to get our roadsides cleaned up, as well. So a total of $10,000 goes back to our community during this campaign.”
“Right now, I have about seventy miles officially registered, so we have about thirty more miles left to get registered for the county,” Rose pointed out. “We provide the supplies, as well. We’ll provide the bags, gloves and pickers, and we have assigned dumpsters around the county – in Marlinton, Snowshoe and Green Bank.”
“We’re really excited about this, and we should all be proud of how beautiful our area is,” Rose said. “Litter is an issue, everywhere. This is at least one way to work toward creating a litter-free community.”
Was this clean-up program a success last year?
“Last year was very successful,” Rose answered. “It was the first year we did it. The county commission also contributed to the fund, so we had about $13,000 to contribute to the campaign. We cleaned up nearly 140 miles of roadside. So, I think we were one of the most successful clean-up campaigns in the state.”
Groups interested in participating in the roadside cleanup should contact the CVB at 304-799-4636 to register and to get supplies.