Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center instructor Michael Barrett took his PLTW computer science classes outside to pick up litter and get some fresh air following a test when the weather broke earlier this month.

“It’s our little community service,” Barrett said. “I just think the Bootheel of Missouri and the Poplar Bluff area are so pretty, and I can’t understand why people would want to litter.”

Barrett voiced his concern publicly during a Poplar Bluff Council meeting a while back, and a city official directed him to the Adopt-A-Street program. He has since enlisted his classes in helping to make the community a cleaner place.

This will mark the third school year the Project Lead the Way students have picked up trash on occasion along Butler County Road 437. The volunteer group was given an official sign that the school displays on campus, reading: This Street is Proudly Maintained by Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center.

“It’s a small thing that goes a long way, picking up litter,” stated James Fisk, Poplar Bluff city planner. “We encourage it as much as possible. We’ll take all the help we can get.”

City hall supplies the trash bags for planned cleanup events and the Street Department will come by to pick up the debris collected along the route. Volunteers must complete at least one cleanup event per quarter, and a sign displaying the individual or organization may be installed after two consecutive pickups.

The litter control program is “designed to promote a volunteer spirit and instill pride in the city,” according to the application, made available at 501 Vine St., or by clicking here.

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Cutline: Computer science students Emily Northern and Justin Rommel pose under the Adopt-A-Street sign, put up in September 2019, according to TCC Director Charles Kinsey.