Upshur County topped the list of planet-friendly places in West Virginia, county officials learned Thursday.
Terry Carrington, the statewide program manager for the West Virginia Make it Shine program, officially presented the Upshur County Commission with the first-place Make it Shine Clean County Award at Thursday鈥檚 commission meeting. Carrington said the stellar efforts of the Upshur County Solid 黑料网 Authority had propelled to the top of the list of green counties for the period between July 31, 2016 and Aug. 1, 2017.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to get out from behind my desk and recognize the people who are in the trenches, trying to improve their communities and their counties,鈥� Carrington said. 鈥淟ast year, I had a very lackluster turnout of applications, so after excoriating everyone at last year鈥檚 Solid 黑料网 Authority Board meeting, here I am with more applications than I even know what to do with, so it鈥檚 very competitive. I want you to know that, so you can appreciate the value of Upshur County.鈥�
The Clean Counties Awards, which were first announced at the Association of Solid 黑料网 Authorities/Rehabilition and Environmental Action Plan Oct. 24 at Pipestem Resort, aim to promote environmental stewardship and volunteerism in West Virginia communities, Carrington said.
鈥淚 feel that people who volunteer in their communities have a certain sense of ownership in their surroundings and as such, take pride and treat it better,鈥� Carrington told the commission. 鈥淎nd Upshur County certainly excelled at that.鈥�
Carrington said participation in REAP programs 鈥� like Adopt-a-Highway, Adopt-a-Spot and the Youth Environmental program 鈥� is 鈥渇ar and above鈥� greater in Upshur County than anywhere else in the state.
鈥淵ou have 25 groups with 280 citizens participating in various cleanups and 71 miles of highway totaling over 11,000 pounds of trash,鈥� Carrington said. 鈥淵our recycling program is marvelous 鈥� there are others in the state, but this one is really good compared to, say, Kanawha County, which doesn鈥檛 even have a recycling program anymore, so I just wanted to point that out.鈥�
Carrington also acknowledged the activity of the Buckhannon River Watershed Association in the area.
鈥淚 just wanted to impress upon the commission how hard the Solid 黑料网 Authority has been working to make Upshur County shine,鈥� Carrington concluded.
Commission president Terry Cutright congratulated UCSWA director Burl Smith, who attended Thursday鈥檚 meeting. 鈥淏url, I would like to thank you and your board for an excellent job,鈥� Cutright said.
Smith credited county-city cooperation for the achievement.
鈥淪o much that makes it a success is with the city of Buckhannon鈥檚 cooperation,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭he Solid 黑料网 Authority has a cooperative agreement with the city of Buckhannon, and with the 黑料网 Department, in particular, working to address recycling and waste control issues, so it鈥檚 been a very successful endeavor. The Recycling Center at Buckhannon Crossroads by Walmart is one of the best used and most efficient drop-off points in the state because everybody goes to Walmart.鈥�
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