Stream Cleanup nets more than 5 tons of trash
Monday, May 19, 2008 

Four girls emerged from the brush in a field off Wilson Street with wide, triumphant smiles — one of them was even humming the foreboding Darth Vader theme from "Star Wars" — while dragging something along with them.

Their bounty?

A battered piece of cardboard.

That was one of many finds the group of Daisy Girl Scouts Troop 840, Brownies from Troop 856, and Cub Scouts from Pack 11 made on Saturday morning as they sought trashy treasures in a field near Wilson Street during the city’s fourth annual Penobscot Stream Cleanup.

Nine crews totaling about 150 volunteers, both private citizens and employees of local businesses, fanned out in Brewer.

Some spent the morning picking up trash along the Penobscot River from Eddington south to Orrington, while others were in areas such as the Sedgeunkedunk Stream, railroad tracks, the entrance and exit ramps around the Wilson Street-Interstate 295 intersection, the industrial park, Dirigo Drive and other areas where trash tends to build up.

The scouts were relatively far from the river in their spot behind a Dunkin’ Donuts and former Applebee’s building, but cleanup organizer Ken Locke, who is the city’s environmental services director, said it’s important to pick up any trash that could end up in the water during heavy rain or wind.

After some safety instructions, crew leaders handed out bright orange vests, gloves and garbage bags.

Some of what the scouts found, however, couldn’t fit into a trash bag.

"That’s a first," said crew leader Mike Riley when he saw a rusty rototiller sitting among tires, an old vacuum cleaner and bags of trash the scouts piled near a curb along Schilling Drive.

That wasn’t the biggest piece of metal found Saturday, however. One group scouring the railroad tracks found a rusted-out car, Locke said.

The morning also was a learning experience for the scouts. Kevin Duplissie, the father of Brownie Aubrey Duplissie and husband of Troop 856 scout leader Kay Duplissie, found a garden snake underneath a piece of tar. The youngsters gathered around Duplissie as he explained the small snake wasn’t dangerous.

Saturday’s cleanup more than likely surpassed last year’s 5 tons of trash, Locke said, even though there were about half as many volunteers as in 2007. About 300 people signed up, but Locke said he thought the overcast weather may have scared people off.

In the cleanup’s first three years, a combined 500 volunteers picked up about 19 tons of trash, he added.

Locke and his crew may have had their minds on the local effect of trash but some of the Daisy scouts were thinking of the bigger picture.

"[It’s important to pick up trash] … to make the world a better place," said 6-year-old Mallory Palmer.

A copyright story from the Bangor Daily News, Monday, May 19, 2008.