Let’s talk trash, country road trash.
My wife and I considered moving here thirty years ago after taking a ride into the country from San Antonio via Bandera highway SH16.
The long view over hill country roads was breathtaking. Our decision was made when we discovered a river running through the entire county, emptying into 19-mile-long Medina Lake. While neither of us was ready to retire, this would be the place to stake our claim for communion with nature.
Very soon we learned that the public amenities to which we were accustomed in the city were not always available. Sewage lines, water system, city trash pickup and road sweeps were not part of country living. The people we saw picking up litter on the highways were volunteers, not county employees or inmates.
Upon further investigation, we found that the Texas Department of Transportation knew of this gap in government services and began to fill it with volunteer labor in 1985 by forming the Adopta- Highway program, the first in the nation.
Today TxDOT identifies nineteen active agreements with volunteer groups from Bandera County and another thirty that are up for renewal in the Adopt-AHighway program.
Since the contracts are voluntary with no legal obligation or enforcement, it is unclear how many groups are actually working the roads.
Under the program, volunteers residing in a county can adopt a twomile (minimum) segment of a state highway and have their group’s name posted on signs at each end of the adopted section.
The group agrees to pick up litter along their segment at least four times a year for two years. TxDOT agrees to provide the trash bags, safety vests, traffic control signs, training, and retrieve the filled bags.
Lakehills Community Center has Loretta Schirmer organizing residents to pick up along a five-mile segment along SH 37 from 4-way stop to the Lakehills Community Center. New volunteers can reach her at 361-813-4688.
The TxDOT program is limited to state roads: state highways, farm-to-market and rural routes. A couple of years ago, Mike Stiborik and his neighbors from Bridlegate Ranch were litter picking along the roads near their subdivision.
Their group approached the Commissioners’ Court to offer an Adopt-a-County Road, modeled after the state’s program. It took two years before the county worked out the details of the program, but according to County Road Superintendent John Andrade, signs are up identifying road adoptions for three different groups of Bridlegate residents.
Other neighborhood associations have begun adopting county roads. For several years, Dan Wethor has gathered Madrona Ridge neighbors to clear litter along Whartons Dock Road.
They recently applied to adopt almost three miles along Whartons Dock road from Rodeo Road to the cell tower near their subdivision. Last Saturday they organized a dozen residents and picked up 21 large bags of trash, metal and two tires.
Some individual residents have taken the initiative to adopt a road segment. Traci Bellis, a resident of the Flying L ranch subdivision, picks up regularly on SH 173 in front of her subdivision since she retired from the Bandera Electric Coop.
Guadalupe Cole is inviting volunteers to join her on Wednesdays from 10-12 am to pick up trash along dirt roads in the Whartons Dock area. Lupita asks that volunteers text her at 210-849-9476.
The adopt-a-road programs for both state and county roads are open to families and individuals, members or employees of civic and nonprofit organizations, employees of private businesses and governmental entities.
Individuals or groups wishing to adopt a twomile segment of a state roadway can fill out an application on the TxDOT website: txdot.gov/about/ campaigns-outreach/adopta- 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 says that forming adoption groups is simple and he will guide anyone through adoption process of either a county or a state road segment. He can be reached by email at mike@recoverypartner911. com 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 dontmakewastebandera@
