Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Editor
Robert Elliott has found treasure among trash.
“I found some specialized stainless steel hex nuts, like 20 or 30 of them,” he said, remembering the treasure. “If you bought them from a store, they would cost like $3 apiece.”
But the Eastern New Mexico University associate professor said he’s mostly just found trash when his Kiwanis Club makes its semi-annual cleanup along a mile stretch of U.S. 70 west of Portales.
The club and other volunteers will be out again today, scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. at Mark’s Restaurant in Portales.
Clovis’ annual Trek for Trash is also scheduled this morning. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Parks and Recreation Department complex at 500 Sycamore St.
Elliott theorizes the hex nuts were lost when a box of them fell off of a vehicle.
Most of the debris scattered along the highway does not arrive so innocently.
“I’ve been behind vehicles and see them throw cups out the window,” Elliott said.
“Drivers leaving town will throw trash out, or the wind will blow it up against property fence lines ... stuff falls off of vehicles. We’ll find large, empty cardboard boxes and hubcaps.
“I’ve seen full plastic trash bags that people have thrown out, probably because they don’t want to go to the landfill.
“We also find a lot of beer cans, which is disheartening to think that we still have people who drink and drive.”
Elliott said his group of about 15 volunteers usually collects about two dozen 55-gallon bags of trash.
Clovis usually attracts 300-plus volunteers for its annual Trek for Trash.
“Every year Trek for Trash has been supported by many volunteer groups and agencies both from the community and Cannon (Air Force Base) and we have made great strides in cleaning up our town,” City Commissioner Fidel Madrid said in a news release.
The city also hosts a spring cleanup called the Great American Cleanup.
If you want to help:
• In Clovis: Meet at 8 a.m. at the Parks and Recreation Department complex, 500 Sycamore St.
• In Portales: Meet at 8 a.m. at Mark’s Restaurant, 1126 W. First St.
