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If there is a little less litter on a two-mile stretch of Highway 9 this month, it is all due to a group of Saratogans who volunteered their time to clean up the highway on a recent weekend.
The Rotary Club of Saratoga has just adopted a part of Highway 9, from near the Saratoga fire station to Via Colina, as part of Caltran's Adopt-A-Highway program.
The club has adopted the side of the highway going south and will be in charge of cleaning litter on that shoulder for the next two years.
Eighteen members of the Rotary Club showed up on Sept. 25 for the cleanup. Joan Pisani, a Rotarian who is also the director of the city's recreation department, coordinated the effort. Pisani had been trained by Caltrans a week before the cleanup.
"Caltrans provided hard hats, orange vests, garbage bags and safety goggles for the event," said Pisani. She said that volunteers would keep an eye on the highway and another cleanup would be scheduled when it was necessary.
Dan Floyd, the president of the club, also volunteered for the event with his wife, Ann. "Joan Pisani had a small training session for us before the cleanup began. We were then divided into three groups. The trash seemed to be a bit old. That part of the highway has not been cleaned for a while," said Floyd.
About 15 bags of trash were picked up by the volunteers. Bryan Knysh, also from the club, said that it was fun to get together with friends and chat and joke.
"It was good fellowship. We had a good time. I hope the highway stays that way," said Warren Lampshire. "The only thing we did not pick up was broken glass, because Caltrans asked us not to."
Elisbeth Challener, the executive director of Villa Montalvo, said that events like this would encourage more people to volunteer. She said that while cleaning, the group found about 100 cigarette butts by the side of the road.
"Once you participate in an event like this, you also realize how some things like plastic stay in the environment and do not disintegrate," said Challener. She said she was now motivated to clean up Highway 85 because she had noticed a lot of trash on that highway.
"We also found some dollar bills on the highway. The money is being donated to the Rotary Club of Saratoga," said Lampshire.
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