2-hour event held to beautify byways

People who want to beautify Columbia County will get their chance Saturday at the Great American Clean-Up.

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Keep Columbia County Beautiful will hold the clean-up from 8 to 10 a.m.

Participants are asked to meet at the Evans Government Complex at 630 Ronald Reagan Drive to remove litter from targeted areas throughout the county.

Volunteers will be divided into teams and will spend the morning cleaning areas such as county parks and rights of way along roads, said Stacie Adkins, the county's community events manager.

"This is not an all-day thing," Adkins said, adding that the county sponsors a clean-up in the spring and fall. "This shouldn't take two hours."

The Great American Clean-Up is an annual, nationwide community involvement campaign started by Keep America Beautiful in 1999. Each April, thousands of Georgians celebrate Keep Georgia Beautiful Month by cleaning, restoring and beautifying their communities as part of the clean-up.

In 2006, more than 51,000 Georgians volunteered more than 252,000 hours of their time and collected more than 4 million pounds of trash in the clean-up, according to Keep Georgia Beautiful's Web site.

Adkins said children are welcome to join the clean-up effort. All materials needed including gloves, vests and garbage bags will be provided to volunteers before heading out to clean-up sites.

Participants will be provided refreshments at the government complex, Adkins said.

For more information, call Adkins at (706) 312-7191 or e-mail her at sadkins@columbiacountyga.gov.