Polk County Democrats seek non-partisan litter solution

By Ethan Nahté

One doesn’t have to look far to find littler alongside our highways and byways, and that includes throughout beautiful areas of Polk County, lakes and streams, the Ouachita National Forest and mountains. This past spring, the Polk County Democrats looked into adopting a section of highway rather than wait for something to happen elsewhere.

According to Cynthia Thanos-Wade, some members were out taking pictures around the county for proof there is a problem when presenting the issue again. The group contacted Arkansas State Representative John Maddox.

“He was pleasant,” she said, “but off hand it was difficult to think how to solve this problem. I told him I would get back with concrete possibilities. I like that personally John Maddox is cordial, receptive, and does talk to his constituents.”

Thanos-Wade is also a member of Human Rights Mena. Members of the group gathered at Mena Lake on Earth Day to collect trash along the shoreline, boat launch and parking area.

“Our Human Rights Mena group is fed up waiting for help elsewhere and seeing our Mena looking this bad.”

At the monthly Polk County Democrats meeting held May 8 the members voted on a section of Highway 71 to be designated for litter pick-up through the state sponsored Adopt a Highway® program.

Thanos-Wade said, “The Democrats are still hoping to work in a non-partisan manner with others in the community to tackle the litter problem currently facing Polk County. We are hoping to get a mile section from Hillcrest Road down Hwy. 71 South but they have to decide if that is available.”

The program looks at a variety of things when considering whether a section of highway is adoptable or not, including traffic volume, traffic type (percentage of large trucks), posted speed limits and the geometrics of the highway. If the one-tothree-mile segment of highway is determined unsafe or inappropriate by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) district engineer, the request will not be granted.

According to the official site, at a minimum, litter pick-up should be performed every three months within a year (once a quarter). Participants are encouraged to schedule at least one of their required four pick-ups to coincide with the Great American Trash-Off (held in the spring) or the Great Arkansas Clean-Up (held the first weekend after Labor Day).

After their June 12 meeting, Thanos-Wade said, “The Democrats are anxious to begin the Adopt a Highway® program to begin a stretch of litter removal.”

The Polk County Democrats meet the second Monday of each month. Restaurant locations and times may vary. It’s advisable to look for details in the Around Town section of the Polk County Pulse or call Linda G. Johnson at 479-234-7966 for questions or details. They openly invite the public to attend.

(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) – Outreach staff for Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston will be conducting mobile offices around the state in the next couple of weeks. These mobile offices will allow citizens to get information about the various services the Secretary of State offers, including voter registration, business services, notary training, and more.

“Not everyone can come to Little Rock to access these services. Our staff will help them take care of business where they live,” said Thurston. “We want to make doing business with the state as easy as possible,” he said.

The upcoming mobile office times and location for western Arkansas: July 6 9 – 11 a.m. Polk County Library 410 Eighth Street Mena, Arkansas 71953