The Highway 89A “Road Warriors” have dedicated the July 2009 litter recovery to our soldiers who are currently serving. The litter clean up honors our veterans and community. Litter scars our communities and should be an embarrassment to all Americans who are proud of their country.

If our soldiers can endure the heat and dangers of a war zone, we can gather folks in our community to brave the heat, and, a few possible snakes.

So, for the past two weeks the Road Warriors have been marching from Cottonwood to Sedona bagging up litter tossed by those who disrespect each other, our communities and our environment. To litter is to break the law! The big, blue ADOT bags lining SR 89A should raise awareness of litter along this stretch of roadway. We have yet to find anyone who believes this littering is acceptable, yet here it is.

The Road Warriors have promoted their CSI (Citizen Special Investigators) program as a solution. The CSI program consists of a business card with all local law enforcement phone numbers listed. There currently are 11,500 CSI litter awareness cards in circulation and another 2,000 cards have been pledged bringing the total to 13,500. The goal is 100,000 and anyone can order them by contacting Gary Chamberlain, Cornville, Arizona.

It is the Road Warriors hope that law enforcement will support this program now being promoted statewide. As American citizens, it is our hope that when we citizens report litter and criminal activity, our law enforcement will look into the call-ins and issue the reported violator an appropriate warning.

Arizona Road Warriors

It’s difficult to understand how Cottonwood and Sedona, both with load cover laws, are ending up with so much trash on State Route 89A between the two cities! The Sedona Police have been contacted and do in fact have records supporting a tough stance on litter issues. Cottonwood law enforcement agencies will be contacted and their effectiveness evaluated. When you consider how much drug paraphernalia and empty alcohol bottles are disposed of along SR 89A, this is a great place for all law enforcement agencies to start cracking down on illegal activities!

In its effort to make our troops, veterans and communities proud, the Road Warriors have recovered approximately 150 bags of litter during the past two weeks which can be seen when you travel 89A between Cottonwood and Sedona. They are currently at the Sedona water treatment plant, and hope to reach Sedona (their goal) this coming week. Property values, tourism, community pride and the environment are undoubtedly negatively impacted by all this litter.

To their knowledge, the Road Warriors, CSI and the Lower Oak Creek Cornville community volunteers have pioneered a concept never before employed in Arizona. RECYCLING!

The Lower Oak Creek volunteers will eventually recycle the contents of the ADOT litter bags for free as a community service. ADOT has begun to work with the Road Warriors in this VERY out-of-the- box approach. It’s an approach that benefits all parties, and our fragile desert environment.

Gary Chamberlain and all Road Warrior invite any and all to be part of a volunteer litter abatement group. There is no “special hand shake” as I like to say, no exclusive membership fees! But you are reminded that if you bring criticism and no solutions, the “let’s work together” conversation will be short. There’s much to do constructively!

The Road Warriors and CSI participants reached 50 people and is growing with each event. These folks are a well-oiled group of volunteers on a common mission to better our environment and educate the public on litter issues.

Contact me on behalf of the Road Warriors at PO Box 4180 , Cottonwood, AZ 86326, or call 928-202-1186, or email 89A.CSI@gmail.com.

The Road Warriors and CSI participants welcome all suggestions, comments and concerns. Your contact information is optional. We’re primarily interested in developing the ideas of “we the folks” who are active in keeping Arizona and America the beautiful.

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