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Madrona Ridge residents clean Wharton's Dock Road.
Courtesy Photo
June 11, 2024
Trash pickers going on the roads again
By Robert Brischetto
Don’t Make Waste Bandera
As a city resident who moved into this rural county 30 years ago, I soon learned that many of the city public services are not available, like trash clearance on roads. So, rural residents organize their neighbors to periodically pick up road litter.
That’s what Dan Wethor organized on the morning of June 1, outside of Madrona Ridge subdivision. A dozen of his neighbors met at the cellular tower along Whartons Dock Road, something they have been doing for several years now. In a matter of two hours, they had filled 21 large bags of road trash, metal, and two tires.
They have applied to adopt almost three miles of road under Bandera County’s Adopt-a-County-Road program proposed two years ago by Mike Stiborik and his neighbors in the Bridlegate Ranch subdivision. Three different groups from Bridlegate have adopted two-mile road segments along Bottle Springs Road.
The Bandera County road adoption program is modeled after the Texas Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway program, started in 1985, the very first in the nation. Volunteers residing in a county can adopt a two-mile (minimum) segment of a state road: a highway, farm-to-market or rural route. The group agrees to pick up litter along their segment at least four times a year for two years. TxDOT agrees to post the group’s name at each end of the adopted segment. TxDOT also provides the trash bags, safety vests, traffic control signs, training, and retrieves the filled bags.
Individuals or groups wishing to adopt a two-mile segment of a state roadway can fill out an application on the TxDOT website: https://www.txdot.gov/about/campaigns-outreach/adopt-a-highway.html. Best to follow up with a call to Pricilla Vasquez at 210-615-5912 or contact Mitchell Little at the Bandera Maintenance Yard at 830-796-4124.
Stiborik is recruiting volunteers for the road pickups in the county. He promises to assist anyone through adoption process of a county or a state road segment. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 713-922-7976.
Don’t Make Waste Bandera keeps a mailing list of persons interested in trash cleanup activities. Individuals and groups can join the list or make a contribution by visiting their website: DMWB.net or by emailing [email protected].
That’s what Dan Wethor organized on the morning of June 1, outside of Madrona Ridge subdivision. A dozen of his neighbors met at the cellular tower along Whartons Dock Road, something they have been doing for several years now. In a matter of two hours, they had filled 21 large bags of road trash, metal, and two tires.
They have applied to adopt almost three miles of road under Bandera County’s Adopt-a-County-Road program proposed two years ago by Mike Stiborik and his neighbors in the Bridlegate Ranch subdivision. Three different groups from Bridlegate have adopted two-mile road segments along Bottle Springs Road.
The Bandera County road adoption program is modeled after the Texas Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway program, started in 1985, the very first in the nation. Volunteers residing in a county can adopt a two-mile (minimum) segment of a state road: a highway, farm-to-market or rural route. The group agrees to pick up litter along their segment at least four times a year for two years. TxDOT agrees to post the group’s name at each end of the adopted segment. TxDOT also provides the trash bags, safety vests, traffic control signs, training, and retrieves the filled bags.
Individuals or groups wishing to adopt a two-mile segment of a state roadway can fill out an application on the TxDOT website: https://www.txdot.gov/about/campaigns-outreach/adopt-a-highway.html. Best to follow up with a call to Pricilla Vasquez at 210-615-5912 or contact Mitchell Little at the Bandera Maintenance Yard at 830-796-4124.
Stiborik is recruiting volunteers for the road pickups in the county. He promises to assist anyone through adoption process of a county or a state road segment. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 713-922-7976.
Don’t Make Waste Bandera keeps a mailing list of persons interested in trash cleanup activities. Individuals and groups can join the list or make a contribution by visiting their website: DMWB.net or by emailing [email protected].