Dr. Steve Golladay, a member of the board of directors of Keep Decatur County Beautiful (KDCB), said the community is making great strides in preventing litter, but more improvement can still be made.

Golladay spoke at the Sept. 29 meeting of the Decatur County Board of Commissioners, where he briefed them on the county’s “Litter Index Survey” that took place in August. During the litter index survey, 60 sites — 10 in each commissioner’s district — were inspected on the basis of litter problems, and given a score by three volunteers. Those scores were then averaged; a score of “1” means no litter while “4” means a severe litter problem.

Golladay said the county’s overall litter index was 1.88, which is exactly the same as the litter index in 2010. The litter indices by district were: Attapulgus, 2.3; Climax, 2.2; South Bainbridge, 2.9; North Bainbridge, 1.6; Faceville, 1.5; and Brinson, 1.8.

Volunteers that participated in this year’s litter index were Golladay, Suzanne Brandt, Newton Cloud, Frances Willis, Joe Battles, Frank Loeffler, Brad Belville, Adele Cunningham, Bill Cunningham, Lindy Harrell and Jennifer Lynne.

“There’s a small amount of litter, on average,” Golladay said. “Your eye is not usually grabbed by litter items on most of our roadways, but there’s always room for improvement. That’s essentially what we’re trying to do, is raise awareness and identify areas where we have a problem.”

‘Rivers Alive’ postponed to Oct. 29

One way that KDCB fights the litter problem is through clean-up events like the annual “Rivers Alive” day. The event was originally scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 8, but has been postponed until Saturday, Oct. 29.

“Rivers Alive” is intended to help clean the areas around the Flint River in Decatur County. The clean-up will begin at approximately 8 a.m. and volunteers are asked to meet at the Earl May Boat Basin.

For more information about Rivers Alive and other KDCB activities, email bdckab@surfsouth.com or call the KDCB office at (229) 248-3030.