Taos News

Rain or shine

Dedicated volunteers, county and state staff brave monsoons to clear litter

Story and photos by VIRGINIA CLARK forum@taosnews.com csrkitcarson.com.

Free pizza and beverages stoked up volunteers and Kit Carson Electric staff for litter clean up Friday (July 23) that began around 1 p.m. at the U.S. Hill rest stop on State Road 518 before afternoon rain showers cut the day short from the planned 8-mile route to Peñasco.

Some 20 to 40 Taoseños, including Taos County Commission (Dist. 5) Chair Candyce O’Donnell, variously stuck around through monsoonal showers for as long as they could. Dedicated Taoseños, plus employees of Taos County Public Works, U.S. Forest Service, Solid Waste, Taos County Public Works and NM Department of Transportation all hung in and managed to clear culverts and the road side before the clean up was rained out.

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative organized the clean up. Michael Santistevan, KCEC’s Public Relations agent, smiled wryly as the rain began to fall Friday about 1:30 p.m., noting they will do litter clean up in the morning and serve lunch afterward when the next clean up is scheduled in the fall.

Lorenzo Gutierrez, Solid Waste Code Enforcement officer, said by phone Tuesday (July 27) they had “a few hardcore volunteers who stayed, plus the Kit Carson crew. They called it off about 2 p.m., but it was amazing. It took me two days to dry off.

“It just felt good to be outdoors, away from this COVID stuff, you know?” Gutierrez said about the group.

Since the Earth Day clean up held on April 22, he said he’s noticed roads are much better maintained, with less trash overall. “All in all, we’re putting a dent in it,” he said.

Another county litter removal is scheduled for the fall, when the county crews and companies will again be partnered up with county residents. “It’s all about teaching our young kids to respect and care for the land,” Gutierrez said. And it’s working.

For more information, contact Santistevan at KCEC, 118 Cruz Alta Road; call 575-758-2258 or email

LOCAL NEWS

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2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://taosnews.pressreader.com/article/281728387554146

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