Editorial: Let's clean up Cannon County

Litter is becoming a major problem in Cannon County.

If you don't think so, it is time to open your eyes.

It is a blight upon our community just about everywhere even on the public Square in Woodbury, not to mention less-traveled areas like Parchcorn Road.

Litter is an individual choice.

It is your choice to litter or to be careless in the handling of waste.

Once litter is on the ground, it attracts more litter. Anyone who travels John Bragg Highway knows that.
There's absolutely no reason for littering, but a number of us keep doing it. Are these folks lazy? Yes they are and what we call "triflin'" as well. For those of you too 'trifling' to look it up, the word means lazy, shiftless ... having little value or importance.

So, why drive all the way to the Cannon County Convenience Center at 210 Alexander Dr., Woodbury to dump your trash?

Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Sunday, the center is open from noon to 7 p.m. It is closed on Wednesday. And to top it off, it's free!

These 'trifling' folks had rather dump their trash along the roadside or on someone else's property. Instead of loading that trash in their car or truck, they sneak around the countryside looking for some place to toss it out.
Perhaps 'painting' litterers with the brush of criminality is a bit much? But littering is a violation of the law.
The state of Tennessee recently revised its litter laws to crack down on what is a growing problem.

Under the new Tennessee Litter Law smaller amounts of litter will be punished by a $50 fine, while larger fines are reserved for larger amounts. Offenders can mail in the payment to the county clerk or plead not guilty and face the officer in court. If the judge finds the offender guilty, the person must pay the $50 and court costs.
Believe me, those court costs add up.
The new law makes it easier to report litterers as well. You can report them by email, telephone or by posting to a website: http://www.stoplitter.org/ Even better, consider the website: http://www.keeptnbeautiful.org/
But really there is more to the litter issue than just the law.
It takes just one person, one school, one business, one organization to positively impact the behavior of others in Cannon County.

And that includes some business people and the Town of Woodbury itself. Take a walk on the Square and look down at the litter. Paper, wrappers, cigarette butts and a number of rubber gloves (explain that) litter the ground. Having more than a couple of public trash bins would help that situation.

A number of businesses don't even have trash cans along side their shops and stores. Some of them do use plastic bags, but others just stack up loose papers and other miscellaneous mess along the side of the street for pickup by Woodbury's garbage truck. That's ridiculous!

Think, people think!

Let us rally our civic pride and clean up Cannon County.