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Highway conditions trashed

Enderby’s mayor upset over garbage along Highway 97A
web1_170420-VMS-M-Trash

A busy route in the North Okanagan is being treated like a dump.

Greg McCune, Enderby’s mayor, spent part of April 14 picking up garbage along Highway 97A with his son and two friends.

“I was shocked. It was unbelievable the amount of styrofoam and plastic,” said McCune.

The original goal was to cover the area from Enderby to Armstrong, but the group only got as far as the Starlight Drive-In. Over five hours, they filled two pickups with trash.

“It was incredible. There were kitchen tables and someone cleaned out their kids’ playroom - colouring books. The items may be in the back of a truck and they (motorists) think it will stay in there.”

McCune is concerned about the negative impact the garbage is having on the environment as well as the image of the region.

He will speak to the highways contractor and the Splatsin about the issue and hopes some community groups may be interested in adopting sections of the highway for cleanup.

In the meantime, the hard work initiated by McCune, his son and friends has largely been trashed.

“There are already a few pieces back,” he said of garbage.