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March 31, 2009

Laurel Lake cleanup set for April 18

By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer

Laurel and Whitley county officials, all interested in keeping the shores of Laurel River Lake clean and beautifying the Fifth Congressional District’s Redbud Trail, met Monday at the U.S. Forest Service’s London Ranger Station to plant trees and make plans.

Represented at the Laurel River Lake Cleanup meeting were the Forest Service, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the lake’s dam that generates electricity, Laurel and Whitley county government officials, PRIDE, the Laurel-London Tourism Commission and other groups interested in the project.

The cleanup on the shores of the lake is set for Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Boat owners are asked to furnish craft for the project. Those who don’t own boats can hitch rides with boat providers or can work along the shore or on access roads, said Amy Allen of the Forest Service.

Last year more than 500 volunteers collected 9,817 pounds of trash and 15 tires.

Laurel County won for the seventh year in a row, the trophy for the most volunteers. Whitley won the trophy for two consecutive years prior to that.

In the early 1990s the Forest Service started the cleanup project and in 1997 Friends of Laurel Lake, a group devoted to keeping the lakefront clean of trash, was organized and a friendly competition between Laurel and Whitley counties was established.

The cleanup will be staged at Laurel Dam Beach beginning at 9 a.m. After the boats are back at about 1 p.m. The trash hunters will be fed a free lunch.

There will be a prize for the most unusual trash and door prizes will be drawn for.

To pre-register for the cleanup, contact the Forest Service at 606-864-4163.

Prior to the meeting two of 900 redbud trees were planted at the Ranger Station.

Lowe’s Home Improvement won the bid to provide the trees through the Southern and Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association.

Chris Smith of the Somerset Lowe’s explained that the company bid not only supplying the trees that retail for $62 each, but also delivering them to the cities and counties where they are to be planted.

He said nine of the stores provided trees from Glasgow, London, Pikeville, Morehead and all along the Redbud Trail.

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