“Keep Our Mountains Beautiful” (KOMB) has been dedicated to keeping our roadways litter-free for the past 6 years, and on Saturday, May 12th, they will be calling on volunteers to spend a couple of hours pitching in.
What started as a road-side cleanup day in North Fork in 2005 has grown to include Oakhurst, O’Neals, Coarsegold and Ahwahnee in a mission to keep our mountain communities beautiful and free of trash.
It began as a loose-knit group called “Just us.” When Judy Linda-Horn and Suzie Tomlinson started getting people together to clean up the roadways near North Fork, people would wonder what group they were affiliated with and ask “Who are you?” To which they would reply, “It’s just us!”
The “Just Us” people, now organized into “Keep Our Mountains Beautiful” (KOMB), have been a major force in pushing for such things as the “covered load ordinance” adopted in the fall of 2011, and is working hard to expand recycling opportunities in Eastern Madera County, and educate the public about efficient and responsible recycling and waste management practices. Now they’re asking for the community’s help.
“If you have ever wanted to help with this project and thought ‘maybe next time’, we’re asking you to please come out and participate this year. It’s so important and we really need people to join in the effort,” says Judy Linda-Horn.
MJ and Susan Brent, who will be manning the pick-up station at the Oakhurst Library, say that in their years of cleaning up their road (Road 425B) they have had times where they have filled 9 or 10 bags with trash, and even hauled off a couch!
“Someone remodeled their kitchen one year, and just tossed everything over the bank,” says MJ. “We live on this road, we drive down it every day, and we don’t want to have to look at that mess.”
This year, he says they’d like to have a few folks concentrate on Road 426 because the Amgen Bike Race will be returning to our area this month. However, volunteers are free to choose whatever road “is the most annoying”, says North Fork coordinator Judy Linda-Horn. Any county road will do when it comes to cleanup.
At any of the pickup stations, they will have trash bags, grabber poles, reflective vests and even gloves available for folks to use. At the Oakhurst station EMADCO is providing a dumpster at the Oakhurst Library for people to return their trash. Each town will have their own system, and all the pertinent info will be available at the pickup stations.
The hard working people of KOMB encourage everyone to stop by a pickup station on Saturday morning, May 12, between 8am and noon, and spend just a few hours of their time to pitch in and help keep our mountain area clean and beautiful, not only because it’s our backyard, but to honor the beauty of our area for the thousands of visitors who will be stopping by this summer.
Pickup stations are located at:
Coarsegold – near the Tepee (road 415 & Hwy 41 corner) – call 760-1058 for info
North Fork – NF Post Office – call 877-2361 for info
Oakhurst/Ahwahnee – Oakhurst Library – call 907-3296 for info
O’Neals – Pick up bags and equipment from 7:30 – 9:30am only at Hwy 41 & Road 200 Park ‘n Ride – call 433-7945 for info
