
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990                   TAG: 9006280563
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Medium

ANNUAL CLEANUP SNAGS TRASH

For the past few months, residents here have been concerned about pollution flowing into Claytor Lake - mainly the heavy metals that have leached into Peak Creek, creating a trail of rusty-red water that flows into the lake after heavy rains.

But Saturday afternoon, lake users were more concerned about the pollution coming out of the water - tires, freezer chests, picnic tables, plastic bottles and chunks of plastic foam.

Boaters and anglers spent all day Saturday hauling garbage from the banks and coves of the lake to trash bins at various drop-off points as part of the Triangle Bassmasters' fourth annual lake clean-up.

"Everybody I've talked to seems concerned about the pollution," said Banjo Williamson, president of the fishing club.

Between talk about the weather and how the fish were biting, people also were talking about Peak Creek. "A lot of people care about what's happening in that creek," Williamson said. "A lot of people are asking questions."

One West Virginia fisherman was so concerned about heavy metals in the water that he added a fresh 4-pound catfish to the trash heap, said Richard Stanford, the club's secretary.

Health officials have said that fish are safe to eat, based on recent tests performed by the state Water Control Board.

"He still didn't want to take the chance," Stanford said.

Metals including iron, lead, zinc and selenium have been swept into the creek from the old Allied Chemical site in Pulaski. Downtown East Inc., the limited partnership that owns the site, recently built a pipeline that should keep much of the runoff from hitting the chemical piles, bringing only clean water into the creek.

The Department of Waste Management and Water Control Board are monitoring the site. Further actions may be taken to cap the site after results from soil samples are analyzed this month.

"I think the pollution issue really brought a lot of people out today," said Dave Ridout, vice president of the club. "We've been getting a really good response."

Ridout and other club members handed out trash bags to almost everyone who came by the main boat dock at Claytor Lake State Park. A fishing tournament for 300 to 400 people also was held, and every angler got a trash bag.

"I guess we're making some of them feel a little guilty," said Williamson, 33, of Radford.

A number of property owners spent the day cleaning up their own coves and carting their trash to the dump stations.

Dick Hagy, who lives at the lake, cleaned his cove and drove his pontoon boat across the lake, stopping to snag trash. "This is my backyard," he said, nodding toward the lake. "I want to do my part."

Hagy's contribution to the trash bin Saturday included several 30-gallon bags of assorted trash and large chunks of a metal oil drum.

"I have no idea what this is," said 11-year-old Renee Ridout, as she helped unload a 3-foot weathered piece of plastic foam that looked like a part of someone's dock.

Ridout placed the piece in the trash heap alongside two electric stoves and a frame for a washing machine.

Last year, the Bassmasters collected about 100 tires, three refrigerators and over 1,000 bags of garbage.

"This year, who knows what we'll get," Williamson said.

But to the Bassmasters, gathering trash is not what counts; building awareness does. "We just want to get people involved," Dave Ridout said. "It's their lake."

by CNB