2019 Highway Cleanup Report
The last highway cleanup for 2019 was finally completed on October 9th after several rain outs.
Four members of the IBM Alumni Club participated. They were Larry Plank, Bill Kleis, Frank
Richardson, and Murlin Miller.
I have coordinated the cleanup for the past 3 years; it is time for the torch to be passed to a
new member of the club to coordinate the highway cleanup for 2020.
The Club picks up along a 2-mile section of County Road 3, north of Douglas; starting at the Methodist
Church in downtown Douglas (located on 75th St NW).
The group meets in the Douglas Trail parking lot in Douglas which is located on the south side of
75th Street NW in Douglas (right next to the trail).
The county requires 2 pickups a year. We have usually scheduled the pickups to take place in May and
September. The new coordinator can set the schedule for the actual days for the 2020 pickups. The
pickups usually last for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on how many volunteers participate. We usually
have 4-6 people show up. I have never solicited people to come. The first pickup of the year is the
longest as there is more garbage.
The county provides trash bags. I have a box of materials I'll pass on to the new coordinator. The
box contains lots of garbage bags, but if more are needed a call can be made to the county highway
department. Tell them what you need and make arrangements to pick up more. Orange vests are also in
the box and there are several poles with nails in the end for picking up trash. Some people like to
use the poles as the poles help with keeping your balance when going up and down the ditches. There
is also a note-book in the box where I have asked the people to write their name before we start
picking up.
When the pickup is complete, call the county highway department at 507-328-7060 and tell who is
calling and that you have completed highway cleanup on County Road 3 north of Douglas.
The IBM club coordinator or someone in the group should get a picture of the people who participated
and write a short article with the picture to be included in the next newsletter.
The name of the current county coordinator is Kim Ross at 507-328-7060.
Any questions can be directed to the Rochester IBM Alumni office (rchret@aol.com or call 507-288-3663 x-120).