“For lack of support, the Adopt-A-Road program is losing coordinator Nancy Sutter.Sutter said there are hundreds of volunteers for the garbage-cleanup program, but many simply aren’t doing their jobs.I get sick of people (who are not volunteers) calling me and complaining about the trash on their road, said Sutter, who has managed the program for the past seven years.A frustrated Sutter said that people don’t want to get involved anymore, and think that it is someone else’s job.It’s a democracy, and everyone needs to participate, Sutter said, not only a few old ladies like me.The Adopt-A-Road program is a nationwide environmental effort, in which volunteers adopt roads and promise to keep their area free from roadside trash and debris. The program was instituted on Bainbridge eight years ago by south-end resident Diggs Docter.Since then, Sutter said, the island is growing, and so is the trash problem. Typical roadside garbage, she said, consists of everything from beer bottles to baby diapers. Sutter did credit local church and youth organizations for their involvement, especially the great kids who get involved on Earth Day. Now the mantle of responsibility for managing the program may fall back on Docter, at least on an interim basis.But Docter said this week that she is devoting her time to the Bainbridge Foundation’s annual One Call For All drive, and can’t accept any new responsibilities for weeks.Mayor Dwight Sutton said Friday he was aware of Sutter’s plan to step down, and said his office has mulled ways to resuscitate the program – including better recognition for volunteers. Until a new director is identified, Sutton said, he hopes islanders will keep roadsides clean on their own initiative.Anyone interested in volunteering for the Adopt-A-Road program – or taking it over entirely – can contact Lita Myers in the mayor’s office, 842-2545.It is, Sutton conceded, a task that can lose its glamour quickly.It’s like housework, Sutton said. There’s no end to it.Staff writer Douglas Crist contributed to this report. “
Is Adopt-A-Road project going to the wayside?
"For lack of support, the Adopt-A-Road program is losing coordinator Nancy Sutter.Sutter said there are hundreds of volunteers for the garbage-cleanup program, but many simply aren't doing their jobs.I get sick of people (who are not volunteers) calling me and complaining about the trash on their road, said Sutter, who has managed the program for the past seven years.A frustrated Sutter said that people don't want to get involved anymore, and think that it is someone else's job.It's a democracy, and everyone needs to participate, Sutter said, not only a few old ladies like me. "
