On April 23, Curlew Job Corps staff and students enjoyed a hamburger BBQ, before going out in groups to pick up litter on both sides of the Kettle River to Curlew, as part of Ferry County Pride Month and Earth Day Every Day activities.

According to Gaitlin G., a Facilities Maintenance student from Boise, Idaho, picking up litter was an eye-opener. “I picked up trash on Customs Road.” Gaitlin reported. “I was surprised at how much junk people throw out on the road. I found a structural firefighter’s boot (yellow and black), lots of pop and beer cans and bottles, empty cigarette packs, cigarette butts, rusted sheet metal, opened mail packages, and a whole lot of baling twine.” Gatlin, who says he picks up litter around his street at home in Idaho City, Idaho, says that the activity taught him a lot about litter and how it can make even a beautiful place look, well, “trashy.”

Together, the Center was able to fill a two-ton truck with 640 pounds of litter.

The Center wishes to thank Ferry County Solid Waste Management for supplying safety equipment, bags, and complimentary dumping of the trash, and the ore trucks that were cautious and shared the road.