Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990 TAG: 9006160431
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-2 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: CHRISTINA A. SAMUELS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CALLAWAY LENGTH: Medium
But if you drive Virginia 640 near her home outside Callaway, you can catch Stogner picking up trash by the side of the road.
"It's just a small thing that we can do to make our beautiful state even more beautiful," said Stogner, who wants others to do the same.
Stogner has donated 50 prints of her work "Water Lilies in Bloom" to the next 50 people in Franklin County who join the Virginia Department of Transportation "Adopt-a-Highway" program.
The prints are valued at $50 each; the original painting hangs in the Time-Life building in New York.
The response has been so favorable that Stogner, an associate professor of art at Ferrum College, is making a similar offer in Bedford County. She's particularly attracted to the beauty of the lake area, and many of her landscape paintings are of Smith Mountain and Philpott lakes.
"We responded to Gov. Wilder's call," Stogner said, referring to Wilder's rallying cry for volunteers: "Together we can make a difference."
As of the first of this month, 2,571 groups and 128 individuals have joined DOT's Adopt-A-Highway program in Virginia. Together, these people are keeping 6,710 miles of road litter-free.
Adoptions of interstate highways also are now possible, but because of safety reasons trash on only one side of the road can be picked up, and minors can't be involved.
To join the program, volunteers must agree to keep at least two miles of highway cleared of trash for two years. In return, the state posts an Adopt-a-Highway sign with the person or group's name at the beginning and end of the adopted piece of highway.
The volunteers are given materials to help with the trash pickup, including orange trash bags and safety vests. The Adopt-a-Highway sign also includes a diamond-shaped sign, hinged in the middle, that can be unfolded to become a cautionary "cleanup crew at work" sign.
Stogner has adopted a little more than two miles near her home. She has incorporated her litter pickup into her personal fitness program, walking the highway almost every day with her two dogs. Stogner enjoys walking at what she calls the "magical hours" - the beginning and end of the day.
She often sees wildlife at these times. "It's a very spiritual thing."
Stogner said she attracted some funny looks from drivers when she started, but now some people pull over to thank her for her efforts.
Stogner said many of her neighbors have "a volunteer-type spirit about them," including those county residents who cleared roads with their own equipment in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hugo.
Two of her neighbors, Shangri-La Farms and Butterfly Farms, have adopted a highway, and Stogner said many of the highways have been unofficially "adopted" by people who have been picking up litter for years.
Donna Purcell Mayes, a DOT spokeswoman, said that some other states allow only groups to adopt a highway. But "we knew there were people out there picking up trash on their daily walks," Mayes said. "Why shouldn't they be recognized for the work that they do?"
by CNB