By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
A faulty Chinese finger trap’check. A barcode for a pineapple’check. A toy car with a lollipop stuffed inside of it’double check.
Boy Scout Troop 128 let nothing pass their fingertips as they scoured the west side of Joslyn Rd., from Scripps Rd. to Waldon Rd., bagging litter that had made its way to their section of road in the Oakland County Adopt A Road program.
Adopt A Road volunteers like the scouts have been out this spring wearing fluorescent Road Commission for Oakland County vests doing their part to clean up the local road system.
Groups of eight or more volunteers can still sign up in time for the next two sessions in the summer and fall. Organizations are required to clean their segment of road at any time during the following windows: July 11 to 19, and September 26 to October 4.
Interested groups should contact the Road Commission for Oakland County at 877-858-4804 or by email at dcsmail@rcoc.org.
‘It’s a great program, we really appreciate when people volunteer and help improve the aesthetics of the road system for their communities, it’s a win-win for everyone involved,? RCOC Public Information Officer Craig Bryson said. ‘They’re improving their community, making the road system look better, and we really appreciate the time and effort volunteers put into it.?
Troop members had more fun than expected pitching trash, and have a few words of wisdom.
‘People should think about the environment when they are driving in their cars and have a regard for nature,? Brian Farstvedt, Troop 128 member and ninth grader at Lake Orion High School, said.
Other weird items slung over the backs of troop members: a James Bond action figure, an un-signed check, a completed homework worksheet, pieces of cell phones, and loads of other stuff which filled more than five bags.
Aidan Hickey even found a snake in his trash bag he had inadvertently thrown away.
‘I accidently picked it up. I think it was inside a paper,? he said.
Signing up is very easy. After contacting the RCOC, groups of eight must acquire a permit for a set area of a road and follow the permit conditions.
Groups must hold safety meetings, stay out of the actual roads, and place all litter in Adopt A Road supplied waste bags. Items too heavy for the bags can be placed next to them along the roadway, which the RCOC will pick up during the designated windows of time. Groups should not pick up litter during electrical or wind storms, and must volunteer one hour after sunrise and quit one hour before sunset.
To view a full list of permit requirements go to www.rcocweb.org/Permits/Adopt_A_Road_Conditions.aspx.
Available roads
Fear not, an ample amount of roads are still available for local groups to beautify.
Bryson said many groups participate, including private business groups, scout troops, political groups, civic organizations, and even school groups could get involved.
Currently many smaller roads in Orion Township are available to adopt, including:
Heights from Joslyn to M-24
Scripps from Joslyn just past M-24
Greenshield Rd. from Joslyn Rd. to Kern Rd.
Joslyn from Brown Rd. to Waldon Rd.
Hemingway and Casmere between Clarkston and M-24
Miller from Flint to Conklin
Orion to Kern to Clarkston
Kern from Clarkston Rd. to Silverbell Rd.
Clarkston from M-24 to Kern
Nakomis Rd from Joslyn to the Oxford Twp. border
Many of Orion Township’s larger road systems have already been adopted by local organizations.
Roads already taken include:
Baldwin from Waldon to Indianwood Rd.
Clarkston Rd. from Clintonville to M-24
Waldon from Baldwin to M-24
Brown Rd. from Baldwin to Squirrel
Silverbell from Giddings to M-24
For a complete list of available and unavailable roads, visit the RCOC website www.rcocweb.org/Permits/Adopt_A_Road.aspx.