Tag Archives: ordinances

Suwannee Riverkeeper will talk trash with Valdosta Mayor Scott James, Radio 92.1 FM 2023-03-24

Leave a reply

Friday morning at 8:30 AM, Suwannee Riverkeeper will talk trash with Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson on his radio show, Talk 92.1 FM.
https://talk921.com/

WWALS and the City of Valdosta are doing a cleanup Saturday at Two Mile Branch; meet at 507 Mack Drive and park on Howell Brook Drive. The city is finally moving a bit on trash traps, but there is much more to do, including having the City Marshalls inform businesses of the city trash ordinances, including potential fines and other penalties.

[Radio, Two Mile Branch]
Radio, Two Mile Branch

We’ll also talk about Continue reading →

WWALS calls for city trash reforms –Valdosta Daily Times 2023-03-09

Leave a reply

Come to Two Mile Branch Saturday, March 25, 2023,

see the trash problem for yourself, and talk to many of the people mentioned in this article.

Malia Thomas, Valdosta Daily Times, March 9, 2023 , Group calls for city trash reforms,

VALDOSTA — In the WWALS Watershed Coalition’s eyes, the city needs to clean up its act.

[Sugar Creek Beach, trash, WaterGoat trash trap, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Sugar Creek Beach, trash, WaterGoat trash trap, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, Suwannee Riverkeeper

John Quarterman, Suwannee [R]iverkeeper of WWALS, and Bobby McKenzie, [former] WWALS intern, have expressed concern over trash pile ups in the city’s waterways, particularly in Sugar Creek. Continue reading →

Pictures: A boatload of tires out of Sugar Creek 2020-10-10

We got 577 pounds of trash and a bunch of tires out of Sugar Creek, as part of the River and Creek Cleanup, Lowndes County, Valdosta, and WWALS 2020-10-10. Probably more than that; that number is from one record sheet.

[Tire boat, trash ashore and recorded]
Tire boat, trash ashore and recorded

WLRWT, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, Withlacoochee River, Special thanks to Bobby McKenzie, Scotti Jay, Tom Potter, Sara Jay, Elizabeth Brunner, and Joe Johnson, among WWALS regulars, plus at least seventeen more volunteers. And thanks to Current Problems for coming up from Gainesville, Florida, to help.

This was a very productive cleanup, getting some trash out of Sugar Creek before it got to the Withlacoochee River. It makes Continue reading →

Valdosta litter reports: and then what? 2023-01-06

Absentee landlords are letting trash get into Valdosta streets and creeks. What is the City of Valdosta doing about it?

Somebody named Gary McMillan reported two Litter issues on December 6, 2022 and January 6, 2023 through Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix app. Both locations are slighlty uphill from One Mile Branch, which flows into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, upstream from the proposed Troupville Nature Park.

[Trash near Baytree Drive and One Mile Branch map]
Trash near Baytree Drive and One Mile Branch map

City Marshalls in each case said they did something, which is good. But they closed out each ticket before reporting the actual outcome.

Both properties are owned by absentee landlords, who also own many other lots throughout Valdosta.

It’s time for the City of Valdosta to enforce its trash ordinances on property owners, especially absentee landlords.

Gary McMillan reported issue 13786041 on December 6, 2022:

Large amount of litter along Baytree Dr. and Jo Ree St. Some trash/litter is associated with a spilling bag of garbage. Much is not associated with the bag, but is typical of this neighborhood.
Continue reading →

Videos: Troupville Nature Park and River Camp, Trash, Cleanups –Helen Tapp & Suwannee Riverkeeper @ Scott James Radio 2022-12-15

Helen Tapp was still around after Lowndes County bought land from her for a nature preserve, so I asked Scott James to get her on his radio show, in which we talked nature preserve and trash.

[Movie: Thanks --Scott James, Helen Tapp]
Movie: Thanks –Scott James, Helen Tapp

We learned a few new things: the Valdosta YMCA is working on providing Withlacoochee River access just downstream from the railroad bridge and Sugar Creek, with no boardwalk required.

And the Mayor predicts that Valdosta United Way and the City Council will each provide $2,000 towards two additional WaterGoat trash traps.

Helen Tapp discussed that recent purchase to make a nature preserve at the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River. She and Suwaneee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and Valdosta Mayor Scott James talked about eight miles of river right next to Valdosta, with chainsaw cleanups to make it more accessible down to Troupville River Camp, where the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle will depart March 4, 2023.

These WWALS videos include the rest of the interview, after a cable provider knocked Talk 92.1 FM off the air for the morning. Including Continue reading →