Conasauga River Watershed Cleanup Honored by Confluence Award

Pictured from Left: Gretchen Lugthart and Katie Owens, Conasauga River Watershed organizers, accepting the Confluence award from Rivers Alive representative Lynn Cobb during the River’s Alive award ceremony on April 15

(Dalton, GA, April 30, 2014) –  Volunteers and stream cleanup organizers from across the state recently met in Atlanta to celebrate the accomplishments of the state’s largest volunteer cleanup program, Rivers Alive.  The Rivers Alive awards honor the efforts of individuals and groups who are working to improve Georgia’s waterways, one trash bag at a time.  Volunteers wade into rivers, lakes and coastal waters each fall as part of the continuing statewide campaign to clean and preserve more than 70,000 miles of Georgia waterways.

The Rivers Alive awards ceremony, held on April 15 at Zoo Atlanta, recognized groups of volunteers, as well as individuals and businesses for their efforts in 2013.  The Confluence award, which recognizes successful community partnerships, was awarded to organizers of the annual Conasauga River Watershed Cleanup event.  Confluence, defined as the flowing together of two or more streams, or rivers, clearly describes the coming together of local organizations for one purpose.  The members of the organizing committee for the annual cleanup are Jeff Carrier (Carpet & Rug Institute), Dirk Verhoeff (Conasauga River Alliance & Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority), Gretchen and John Lugthart (Dalton State College), Phillip Pfeifer and David Oxford (Dalton Utilities), Sandy Adams (Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful), Liz Swafford (Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful), Josh Smith and Dan Huser (Limestone Valley RC & D), Brenda Jackson (Murray County Extension), Katie Owens (The Nature Conservancy), and Chris Hester (Whitfield County).

“This is certainly an appropriate award for our group,” said John Lugthart, one of the organizers and a Dalton State professor of biology.  “We have a great team of people, all of whom are committed to educating our community about the importance of protecting our local streams and the Conasauga River.  We are coming up on our 20th annual cleanup and are still going strong!”

During the 2013 watershed cleanup 258 volunteers from Whitfield and Murray Counties removed trash, debris, and invasive plants from seven sites in the two counties.  Overall, volunteers collected and removed 8,329 pounds of trash and 37 tires. 

Funding sponsors for the 2013 event included: Shaw Industries, J&J Industries, Dalton Utilities, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, The Nature Conservancy, and the Conasauga River Alliance. 

At the state level, during the 2013 Cleanup, 27,679 volunteers cleaned more than 1,800 miles of waterways and removed over 500,000 pounds of trash and recyclables, including car parts, grocery carts, luggage, basketballs, TVs, sinks, bicycles, tires and plastic bottles. Rivers Alive is a program of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division. “Rivers Alive cleanups provide important opportunities for citizens to make a big difference while volunteering just a few hours of their time,” said EPD Director Jud Turner. “Citizens return home with a greater awareness of how our everyday choices impact our environment.”

About Rivers Alive

Rivers Alive targets cleanups across all waterways in the State of Georgia including rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.  The mission of Rivers Alive is to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of Georgia’s water resources.  To volunteer or participate in a local cleanup effort or to obtain more information about the statewide campaign, call 404-463-1464 or go to www.riversalive.org.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Earns President’s Circle Award for 2013

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful was the recipient of the President’s Circle Award issued by Keep America Beautiful for it’s efforts in 2013. Board members pictured include: Phillip Pfeifer, John Paul Bledsoe, Anthony Cline, Patricia Edwards, and Liz Swafford.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful received Keep America Beautiful President’s Circle Award during Keep America Beautiful’s 2014 National Conference, which recently took place in Charlotte, N.C. The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit in building and sustaining vibrant communities.

 In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful has met Keep America Beautiful’s standards of merit by conducting an annual Community Appearance Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio, and administering activities in the areas of litter prevention, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community greening.

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Jennifer Jehn. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions to local problems caused by litter, graffiti, illegal dumping and other community blight by engaging volunteers of all ages in its effort to create a vibrant community.”

During 2013 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful held or helped facilitate several events including Christmas Tree Recycling Day, Bulky Waste Roundup, Adopt-a-Mile cleanups, educational sessions for children and adults, Compost Awareness Week, Ecumenical Earth Day, Conasauga Watershed Cleanup, the Eek-O-Friendly Costume Swap, and Community Planting Day.

“I want to thank the Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board members and volunteers for participating in so many activities throughout the year that make our community a beautiful place to live.” said Executive Director of KDWB, Liz Swafford.  “There’s still room for us to grow and we’re looking for board members and volunteers to join us and make a positive impact in 2014.”  Visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org to register for the KDWB newsletter or call 706-278-5001 to find out how you can participate.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a strong national network of 1,200 affiliates and partners including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers who take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers programs and engages in public-private partnerships that help create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling while educating generations of environmental stewards. Through our actions, we help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound. For more information, visit kab.org.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Receives Inaugural Governor’s Circle Recognition Award

Representatives from Keep America Beautiful affiliates from across the state of Georgia gathered at the State Capitol to receive the inaugural Governor's Circle Recognition Award. 

Atlanta, GA – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful received the Governor’s Circle Award on December 9, 2013. These inaugural, statewide awards were presented by Gov. Nathan Deal at the State Capitol as part of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Fall Conference.

Created by the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation in honor of its 35th Anniversary; The Governor’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance by certified affiliates in reducing litter, minimizing waste and greening local communities. To qualify for the Governor’s Circle Award, affiliates must be in good standing with Keep America Beautiful; conducting an annual Litter Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio and engaging volunteers to take greater responsibility for their community environment. Additionally, the affiliate must be an active member of the Georgia network.

“The affiliates receiving the Governor’s Circle Award represent the best of community improvement efforts”, said Sarah Visser, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, “they are doing the hard work every day to keep their communities economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable”.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, also known as the Clean and Beautiful Commission, was established in 1989 and became an affiliate in 1991.  Board members and volunteers focus on activities that promote litter prevention, beautification, waste reduction, and recycling.  Annual events include Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling in January, Community Planting Day, Adopt-a-Mile cleanups, participation in local Earth Day events, and the Conasauga Watershed Cleanup, among others.

“I would like to thank all of our amazing board members, volunteers, and community partners for making the work of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful possible.” said Liz Swafford, Executive Director of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.  “With their commitment and support our local affiliate has continued to grow and expand it’s range of activities and continue to make a positive impact in the community.”

Those interested in volunteering should visit www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org, or call 706-226-6211. 

Georgia is the first state in the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) network to create a Governor’s Circle Award modeled on KAB’s national good standing designation.

About Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation (KGBF):  Created in 1978 by Governor George Busbee, Keep Georgia Beautiful (KGB), became the first state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.  In 2011, the Keep Georgia Beautiful program merged with the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, Inc. which was created in 1985 to promote private sector financial support for worthwhile educational programs that enhance the environment and the quality of life in Georgia. KGBF coordinates a number of environmental efforts including the Great American Cleanup™ and the statewide Bring One for the Chipper Christmas tree recycling program.  The Foundation is based on a fundamental premise that the environmental interests of the state of Georgia and the people who live here are best served when public and private interests work hand-in-hand to achieve common goals. Our connections with the public and private sectors aid us in our mission to support local Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliates as they build and sustainable communities through litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, water resource management and community greening.  For more information about the KGB Foundation, please visit www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org or call the office at (404) 679-4910.

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Media inquiries may be directed to Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, Executive Director, Sarah Visser at (404) 679-4910 (office) or sarah.visser@kgbf.org. {C}

Live Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Event January 4, 2014

Christmas trees will be collected at The Home Depot in Dalton along with electronics during Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s annual treecycling event.  The next event will be on Saturday, January 4, 2014 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. 

Residents are invited to start their new year fresh by recycling their live Christmas tree and dropping off used electronic devices for recycling at the community’s annual “treecycling” event. On Saturday, January 4, 2014 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees, and electronic devices for recycling.  The annual collection event will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at The Home Depot parking lot located at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton. 

Residents may drop-off their Christmas trees for free.  Trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wire, tinsel, lights, and other decorations.  Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted – no artificial trees please.  Trees will be recycled on site into mulch that will be used for beautification projects throughout Whitfield County. 

Used electronics accepted include computers, digital cameras, video cameras, cell phones, gaming systems and components, mp3 players, scanners, and laptops.  There is a fee of $5.00 per item for the proper recycling of television sets, and computer monitors.  All other electronics can be dropped off for free. Electronics will be processed by Reworx Recycling, which is part of the Tommy Nobis’ Foundation program NobisWorks.

Please remember to secure your load for cleaner roads.  Tie down and put a tarp on items placed in the back of a pick-up truck, trailer, or on the roof of a vehicle.

Those unable to participate the day of the event may use one of the following options to properly dispose of their holiday items.

1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees from the curb for city residents that have garbage collection service through the city.  City residents should call 706-278-7077 to request pick-up.  Yard debris is regularly picked up throughout the year every other week.

2.) The four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off areas for yard debris that is recycled year round.  These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. 

3.) Electronics are collected for recycling year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center.   For hours of operation and directions to any of the four Convenience Centers visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for making this event possible: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Reworx Recycling, Whitfield County Public Works Department, and The Home Depot in Dalton.  For more details about the event visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Click here to download the event flyer. 

Annual Conasauga Watershed Clean-up a Success

Members of Girl Scout Brownie Troop 14603 volunteered at the Lakeshore Park cleanup site during the 19th Annual Conasauga Watershed Cleanup.  Pictured from left to right are Adults: Jennifer McGaughey, Michell Gray, Amber Stiles. Kids: Jayda Harrod, Alana McGaughey, Paige Stiles, Laila Perry, Abigail Rann, Chassidy Crider, Sarah Key, and Bree Worley.

(Dalton, GA, November 20, 2013) –258 volunteers from Whitfield and Murray Counties participated in the 19th Annual Conasauga River Watershed Clean-up on Saturday, October 26.  The annual event took place during the United Way’s “Make a Difference Day”.  Volunteers spent the morning removing trash, debris, and invasive plants from seven sites in the two counties.  Overall, volunteers collected and removed 8,329 pounds of trash and 37 tires. 

Event organizers want to thank everyone who participated and contributed to the success of this year’s event.  The amount of clean-up time donated by volunteers, approximately 774 hours, is valued at $16,077.  Volunteers received a t-shirt and a hat or reusable water bottle in appreciation for their participation. 

Organizers want to especially thank this year’s funding sponsors: Shaw Industries, J&J Industries, Dalton Utilities, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, The Nature Conservancy, and the Conasauga River Alliance.  Also, they would like to recognize these additional organizations that helped coordinated the event: Carpet & Rug Institute, Dalton State College, Dalton Utilities, Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Limestone Valley RC & D, and Murray County Extension.

The Conasauga River, one of the six most biologically diverse freshwater river systems in the United States, supports 24 endangered species and a dozen other imperiled species, including the Southern Pigtoe mussel and the Conasauga logperch, a fish found nowhere else in the world.  The Conasauga Watershed Clean-up has long been a part of Rivers Alive, a statewide campaign to clean and preserve over 70,000 miles of Georgia’s rivers and streams.

Rivers Alive continues to be the state’s and one of the South’s largest volunteer efforts to beautify water resources.  So far this year, 23,930 volunteers have participated in 260 clean-up events through out the state and have collected 477,569 pounds of garbage from Georgia waterways. For more information about efforts in other areas or the statewide campaign visit www.RiversAlive.org.