They're bagging it for paganism
Daniel Hobson Staff Writer
Members of the Flint Hills Pagans Alliance don't want to create a fuss, but
they do want to clean up a mess.
Thirteen members of the organization spent part of Sunday along a two-mile
stretch of Fort Riley Boulevard cleaning up roadside litter. They picked up and
bagged more than 80 bags of trash west of Manhattan as part of the
Adopt-A-Highway Program.
Don Campbell, utility coordinator with the Kansas Department of Transportation
(KDOT), acknowledged that that's a whole lot of Great Biggie fry boxes.
"I would say that it is (a significant amount) .... they must have done a good
job," Campbell said, although he fell short of calling the amount a record.
"With all the stores and fast food places on either end, it can get to be a
kind of trashy place ... it's one of the heaviest traveled in the area so it
has potential of being that (a problem area)."
He said there are from 16 to 20 groups in the Adopt-A-Highway program. Groups
are supposed to clean at least three times a year, but they pick the times they
want.
Jessica Cleveland, a Manhattan-Ogden teacher and member of the alliance's
council, said the previous group that took care of alliance's stretch of road
hadn't been there in a long time.
The local alliance, which numbers about 120 members, according to Cleveland,
recently adopted the stretch of highway from mile marker 185-187 as a way to
reach out to the community. The alliance also raises food for the Flint Hills
Breadbasket, and this week will host a Thanksgiving feast for members of the
Michigan National Guard currently at Fort Riley.
The group has met for about a year with gatherings at 7 p.m. on the second
Wednesday of the month at Manhattan City Park.
"We're not here to make a big muss, to sort of foist our religious beliefs on
the community," Cleveland aid. "We just want to make people aware that we are
typical, everyday people."
The term "pagan" refers to a person who observes a polytheistic religion. "It's
just a big, broad umbrella," Cleveland said.
You can reach Daniel Hobson by phone at 776-2300, ext. 243, or by e-mail at
dhobson@themercury.com