To the editor:

Dubois County residents — have you observed many of our county roads lately and the amount of trash that is along the roadways? This is our property, our county. I encourage anyone who might be tempted to open the window of your vehicle and toss trash to stop and take your trash home with you and discard it properly. Our roadways are not your trash can.

I frequently walk along a county road and weekly take a plastic shopping bag with me. I often times fill that bag in simply covering one and three quarter miles. Recently, I walked a different direction and in a one-half mile section of road I packed four, thirteen-gallone kitchen trash bags full of trash. The findings included many plastic bottles, beer cans and bottles, soft drink cans, fast food containers and even a gallon whiskey bottle.

Residents, this is our county and we need to take pride in it. This is not just the county officials responsibility. It falls on all of our shoulders.

With the warmer weather and before the grass and weeds get in high gear, it is a good time to get out and make a difference. Walk a section of road with a trash bag. Particularly during this time of social distancing, it is a great way to get out and get a bit of fresh air and exercise while making a difference.

As you do, you might find it interesting to try to determine what the favorite drink is in the area.

Young people and adults — if you take on this challenge, please keep safety in mind. Take proper safety precautions and be very conscious of traffic. Also, keep your social distance.

Let us make a difference. This is our county.

—Dave Fleck
Ferdinand