SCOUT PAINTS DRAIN COVERS WITH MESSAGES

SCOTT CITY -- With a brush and a bucket of yellow paint, Gary Poyner is helping the environment, the city and himself at the same time.

Poyner, 16, is painting storm drain covers throughout the city with an environmental message to keep Missouri's streams clean.

The stenciling project also will help him earn community service credit for an Eagle Scout badge. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 29 in Scott City.

The "Spring Fling" program alerts Missouri residents to the dangers of illegal dumping in streams and rivers. The program is coordinated through the Household Hazardous Waste Project.

Each drain cover in the city will be painted with a sign that reads, "Dump No Waste, Drains to Streams."

Since the project began about four months ago, Poyner has painted about 25 drain covers. He expects to paint 10 more before finishing the project. Most of his work is done on weekends or after school.

"In the neighborhoods, people ask why I'm painting graffiti but I explain that it's a project in conjunction with the city," Poyner said. "It will alert the city so they know what can happen."

City Administrator John Saxton first heard about the project at a Operation Stream Team meeting he attended as a Coast Guard reservist.

"It's like a domino effect," Saxton said of the hazardous dumping, adding that the city also plans to paint drain covers in the Industrial Park area.

Poyner, a junior at Scott City High School, is the son of Gary and Judy Poyner of Scott City.