Is there no end?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Apparently things were a lot better, and a lot cleaner, at Silver Lake State Park this July 4. Last year, trash was a serious issue but the Hollis Police and the state seemed to plan well for this year, so hats off to them.

Which leaves us with Federal Hill Road. Someone we know sent this to us in an email:

“Federal Hill Road, which runs from Route 122 in Hollis to Emerson Road in Milford, was dotted with trash on the Hollis side on July Fourth morning: beer bottles, beer cans, styrofoam coffee cups, a plastic Harvest Market cake/pie box; and passersby had actually gotten out of their vehicles (or were they walking?) to place two beer bottles, side by side, in the middle of the dirt road; then farther up the hill, two beer cans, same formation.

“Federal Hill is one of the most pristine and lovely roads in Hollis: meadows; the Hayden Reservoir dotted with lily pads; Tom Bayrd’s farm where his ghostly Scottish Highland cow grazes alongside two buffalo (sure look like buffalo to this city slicker), many barking dogs, roosters, free-roaming wild turkeys, flower gardens, stone walls, vegetable gardens ...”

Our correspondent wondered if the litterers are Hollis residents or sons and daughters of residents who pay taxes, some portion of which must go to cleaning up roadside litter.

This correspondent also wondered if these litterers are among those who complain about out-of-towners descending upon Silver Lake State Park and making a mess.

We have no idea, but we know that people who litter are a sad, pathetic lot, desperately seeking for some way to show society that they exist. They have nothing else to offer, apparently, so they make their mark the only way they know how.

Sad, pathetic lot.

Meanwhile, over at Silver Lake, things “went extremely well,” said Hollis Police Chief James Sartell. We think that’s thanks, at least in part, to his efforts.

State parks should be fun, and there’s no reason that people can’t have fun without making a mess. Last year there might not have been enough trash barrels, but that was still no excuse: Carry your litter home and dispose of it. This year, though, a Dumpster was added and perhaps that made the difference.

Last year’s ban on alcohol probably helped, too. One is less likely to be concerned about trash if one is trashed.

But the key to the success of any endeavor like keeping this in control and neat at a state park is awareness. Chief Sartell displayed that as did parks officials and it obviously helped.

Good job.

Now if somebody could just bust those dimwits who littered Federal Hill Road …