LITTER: CLEANUP PROJECT COULD LEAD TO `ADOPT A STREET' PROGRAM HERE

A litter cleanup project started by a Cape Girardeau car club could spark establishment of a citywide "adopt a street" program, says city Public Works Director Doug Leslie.

"The city doesn't have an `adopt a street' program but this may be the starting point for one," said Leslie. "It's kind of a trial run right now."

The Derby Knights, a new car club, started picking up trash and litter on the sidewalks and parking lots along Broadway earlier this summer.

The city has now joined forces with the club. The city provides the trash bags and club members handle the cleanup chores. The city has been providing the trash bags for the past couple of weeks.

"I think it's a very positive thing for a group to show interest in helping with cleanup, and putting that much labor and effort into it," said Leslie.

He added that the city plans to put up signs soon identifying the club and the fact it has adopted Broadway for litter control.

Leslie said the state routes in Cape Girardeau have been "adopted" by groups through a program of the state highway department, but at this point Derby Knights is the only group cleaning up a city-maintained street.

Leslie said the litter pickup being done by the car club is "something we would normally not have the personnel to do on a day-to-day basis."

Derby Knights has about 40 members. Most of the men and women in the club are in their late teens to early 20s.

Club member Shawn Hicks of Cape Girardeau, who helped organize the cleanup, said club members have been picking up litter along the entire length of Broadway on Sunday nights. Hicks said they generally do the cleanup work around midnight, when there is little traffic on the street.

Hicks said it was logical for the group to select Broadway for the cleanup effort since club members spend a lot of time cruising the street.

"We're kind of a late-night group anyway," said Hicks. "We usually hang out from 7 at night until sometimes 5 o'clock in the morning."

Hicks said club members sometimes pick up trash on a weekday as well.

"If it looks bad, we will go down during the week," explained Hicks. "We'll just kind of pick up here and there during the week."

The group started out just dumping the litter onto the bed of a pickup truck. "The first weekend we filled the bed of a S-10 pickup twice," recalled Bill O'Kelly of Cape Girardeau.

Now, club members fill up the trash bags provided by the city and leave the bags at Capaha Park for city crews to haul away.

Hicks said it takes about an hour and a half to pick up the litter on Sunday nights. A week ago Sunday, club members picked up enough litter to fill six trash bags.

"We pick up all sorts of things," said Hicks, adding that much of the litter consists of paper cups, soda cans and empty cigarette packs.

In addition to the sidewalks and parking lots along Broadway, club members pick up trash in the Capaha Park lower circle drive, and in the downtown area along sections of Water, Main and Spanish streets and at Riverfront Park.

"We're doing some of the side streets down there off Broadway to make it that much better," said O'Kelly.

Club member Russ McNeely of Cape Girardeau said the cleanup "doesn't take long because we are all eager to do it."

Wade Holloway of the Derby Knights said the cleanup is "definitely needed.

"Everybody should do their share," he added.

Hicks said the Derby Knights started the cleanup project because Broadway merchants had complained that there was a litter problem.

He said the club's members wanted "to improve the image of the Broadway cruisers.

"We're not just young punks cruising around, trashing the place," said Hicks.

He is particularly proud of a recent letter of praise that the club received from City Manager J. Ronald Fischer.

Club members said they would like to see an "adopt a street" program implemented throughout the city. Said McNeely, "It would make Cape a lot neater."