The big cleanup: Why do people think it’s OK to dump trash on the highways?

CRESSON MAYOR

Cresson Mayor Teena Putteet Conway, a native of Cresson, attended school for two years in the historic Cresson school. She is a Granbury High School graduate, and earned a BBA from Baylor University. After marrying, then raising her family in the Metroplex, she returned to Cresson after 40 years.

CRESSON - When we moved back to Cresson, my most important reason for wanting to serve as mayor of Cresson was to assist in the cleanup of the area. We had some homes with junk vehicles in front of them and some had up to six vehicles. One of the vehicles, a truck, had a tree growing through the bed of the truck. It was a hearty tree to say the least and was telling us the truck had been there for some time.

The good news is that in some instances, the owner responded to a letter from the city suggesting they might want to remove the junk vehicle. In other cases, it has not been that simple.

Whenever I drive back and forth to Granbury to visit my mom, I have grown increasingly aware of all the trash I see on Highway 377. Honestly, I just do not get it. How do you drive down the road and toss your cup or beverage can out the window? Do you think that is the right thing to do? Lady Bird Johnson, a native Texan and former first lady to our nation, worked diligently in Texas to plant flowers on our highways. Many of those flowers today still bloom in the springtime.

So as I journey on Highway 377, I often see an entire trash bag full of trash thrown off onto the highway. Once it is torn open, the contents are blown by the wind to all corners of the highway! Oh, and let us not fail to mention the mattresses that get tossed out onto our roads. This happens more on the side roads than on the highway, but still, someone has to go pick it up and take it to the dump and that costs money.

Let us salute the Adopt-a-Highway teams that assist in the never-ending pick up of trash! Where would we be without them?

Onto something fun: There’s a new sign at Cresson City Hall! It will be illuminated upon dusk and hopefully will help folks find us for our City Council meetings. The traffic right in front of our City Hall is very challenging due to construction, so this will add even more light there. If you happen to get stuck in traffic because of the much talked-about train, just sit back, and enjoy the new sign!

While I am writing this article, there is another wreck in the construction zone on Highway 377. Please slow down just a bit to ensure we are all safe. It is a tricky area where the concrete barriers are, so watch out and be sure to drive defensively when you can.

teenac@cressontx.org