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Washington County citizens receive praise for cleaning up trash along Highway 75 near the Walmart Distribution Center in Ochelata.

Tosha Wyatt, along with her son Becker, were some of the area's residents that informed the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) that they would be collecting trash because it was getting out of hand.

Sheriff Scott Owen says he is proud of the parents promoting community involvement and improvement amongst our youth. Owen says he wants to be part of their efforts. He says he wants to commend the whole group that was down there, especially the youth, for getting involved in their community.

Volunteerism has been on the decline in most aspects in Sheriff Owen's eyes. Owen says it does his heart good to see Washington County's youth getting out and being a part of something bigger. He says he doesn't blame them for wanting to make improvements close to where they live because he would want to do the same.

The group spent approximately five hours picking up trash. The Dollar General Store nearby donated a small quantity of trash bags to the group. One of the youngsters was part of a FBC Ochelata church group and was wanting to make this one of their projects. Over 20 bags of litter were collected.

There are options that the WCSO would love to work out down the road if they can. Sheriff Owen says he hopes Walmart will pass along the word to truckers that frequent the area about their trash dumping habits. Owen says he would like to take an inmate work crew down there to assist in trash clean up. He says they may even meet with the Washington County Board of Commissioners about reviving an "Adopt-A-Highway" program.

Deputy David Virden joined Sheriff Owen in visiting with the group on Tuesday. Deputy Virden brought a patrol car for the kids to enjoy. The youth were able to sit in the vehicle, play with the sirens and the lights, check out the equipment, and have a conversation about what law enforcement does. Sheriff Owen says he appreciates Deputy Virden, all the deputies and the jail staff. He says there would be no WCSO without them.

Pictured left: Becker Wyatt lives out one of his "favorite days" as he join his parents and friends cleaning along a portion of Highway 75 near Ochelata earlier in the week, bringing new meaning to spring cleaning during his Spring Break.

Sheriff Owen says they are looking at ways to positively interact with the truckers and have litter properly disposed of in the future. He says they are going to be paying more attention to the littering issues in Washington County and effectively enforce the law where they can while being commerce friendly with the truckers that come to the area from all across the nation.

The truckers are needed to get food to the stores. Sheriff Owen says they help us deal with the supply chain issues that we are dealing with. He says the WCSO wants to bolster the relationships they have with everyone involved.

Photo courtesy: Tosha Wyatt