TOP PHOTO:  Hundreds of pounds of water logged Styrofoam were loaded onto a barge to haul to the shore.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – “It was a good turnout, and I’m really, really happy with it,” said Campbell County Litter Control Officer Glennis Monday.  On Saturday, volunteers took part in a lake clean-up on Norris Lake above and below Powell Valley Marina, east of La Follette.

Saturday’s haul of all kinds of debris was quite impressive.

Monday said a clean-up like this is more than just helping a section of the lake look beautiful again.  “This is a safety issue as well when a 500-pound piece of Styrofoam or planks of wood is in our lake.  Hitting that with a boat or a jet ski could prove very dangerous,” said Monday.  He said once a big piece of Styrofoam is soaked full of water, it could weigh 400 to 500 pounds.

One container alone was filled with Styrofoam, according to Monday.

The 16 volunteers made quite a haul of bottles, glass, cans, trash and more filling 62 bags to go along with 32 tires and some very large pieces of Styrofoam.  Monday notes that it took four to five volunteers to carry some of the Styrofoam.  The day’s clean-up cleared four miles of shoreline of five and a half tons of debris.  That comes out to 11,080 pounds.

Water logged styrofoam made for some heavy lifting.

Monday expressed appreciation to the volunteers for taking time out to help restore beauty to a large section of Norris Lake.  He extends a big thank you to Billy Ball at La Follette Mine Supply for donating cases of water for volunteers and to the Trashman Trash Service, Bernard Crow, for helping haul the litter and making his crew available to help.  An extra special thank you goes out to Mary Lamberson and her staff at the Powell Valley Marina for providing a  lunch to top off the day. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/23/2020-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF KEISHA HOWARD, CAMPBELL COUNTY LITTER CONTROL GRANT COODINATOR)

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