Immaculate Conception School-Loose Creek fourth-grade teacher Anne Luebbert as part of her virtual classroom presented students with an opportunity to not only get out of the house, but also to help the community in which they live with a trash pick-up project completed this week.

“My students feel strongly that littering is something that not only hurts the environment, but it’s completely avoidable,” said Luebbert. “I asked them all to help clean up a small part of our community along three county roads, and each student also wrote a letter to commissioners asking for help to prevent littering.”

Luebbert first reached out to Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin, who, along with fellow commissioners, gave his blessing to the project, as reported in the April 22 edition of the U.D.

Due to weather, the project was delayed until Sunday, but in keeping with social distancing requirements due to COVID-19, families were assigned a half-mile stretch of road to clean, split between CRs 412, 413 and 414, which loop to and from Rt. A, just north of Loose Creek.

The project wrapped up Tuesday, with the 15 students and their families collecting a lot of trash, which was left on the sides of each road.

Osage County Road & Bridge Foreman Ron Kempker's department provided safety signage and heavy-duty yellow trash bags. Crews in county trucks began picking up the bags on Monday.

Adults supervised their children, making it a good outing since everyone has been restricted due to the virus.

"We’re happy to help them in any way," said Kempker, who came out Sunday to provide additional bags and make arrangements to pick up the full bags on Monday. "Keeping the county clean is a good thing."

Luebbert said she is very pleased with the county’s response.

“Knowing that they care about the community and fighting litter is very encouraging,” she said. “We appreciate their support. I’m also very happy that my students and their families demonstrated a strong commitment to cleaning up the community.”

As noted earlier, students also wrote a letter to the presiding commissioner asking for additional help, now that these roads have been addressed.

A representative letter provided by Luebbert is as follows:

“Dear Mr.Griffin,

“Thank you for supporting my classmates and I with our project to clean up the litter along the county roads in our community. When my family is traveling and I see trash on the roadsides, it makes me upset and I feel disappointed that people don’t take the responsibility to help keep our community clean. First, not only does litter make the roads in our community look trashy, it may carry germs and diseases that can make people sick. Second, litter left along our roads could get washed into nearby creeks or rivers, creating more pollution. Third, litter can be very harmful to the animals in our area.

“For these reasons, I would like for you to consider putting up more signs along the road reminding people to properly dispose of trash and help keep our community clean.

“Positive signs such as “Recycle, Reduce, Reuse” might help remind people to properly dispose of their unwanted items. Encouraging signs like “Please be responsible and help keep our community clean” would remind people not to just throw trash out the windows of their vehicles. I also think it would be a good idea to remind people that littering is against the law and consider posting signs to remind people of the fines you could be charged if you are caught breaking the law and littering.

“In conclusion, I appreciate you considering my suggestions as a way to help encourage people to properly dispose of litter and unwanted items. If everyone works together we can keep our community beautiful and safe for everyone to enjoy. Thank you again for your support, time, and consideration.”

Sincerely, Olivia Bonnot