Volunteers clean county, hope they have begun effort that sets example

Nearly a thousand Orangeburg County citizens gathered at the break of dawn to put on gloves and fill trash bags.

On Columbia Road, North Road, Highway 33, Belleville Road and more, volunteers in “Operation Clean Sweep” neon green shirts worked hard to clean Orangeburg County.

Joseph Rich, CEO of Sunshine Recycling, said, “We’ve picked up thousands of bags.”

Rich thanked the volunteers.

Nine regions ranging from 10 to as many as 20 square miles had cleanup groups. The regions were designated by O’Cain.

“Mike’s done an amazing job,” Rich said. His efforts were “monumental.”

Charlene Frye and Pennye Weaver were assigned their home streets around the Brookdale neighborhood.

“I walk in this neighborhood, and it amazes me how people just throw litter out of their car,” Weaver said. “It’s not all right; it’s gross.”

The two poked their trash grabbers through wet leaves and mud, cleaning up trash like broken glass and even dirty diapers.

“I don’t want to pick it up, but I definitely don’t like seeing it,” Frye said.

Along 601 were members of Embark Church.

The church members were split into two groups and placed on opposite ends, each covering three miles of the highway for a total of six miles cleaned.

“I never really did anything like this,” said Bailey Jameson, a ninth-grader at Orangeburg Prep.

“It’s damaging the earth and I think that we should take care of (it),” she said.

Jameson and her mother Andi Jameson were working together.

“I thought it was great, it’s really needed,” Andi Jameson said. “It’s wonderful for our community.”

Jameson said she hopes the cleanup effort can continue for future years and become an annual event.

Helping the two from Embark was James Carter, who believes this service is what Orangeburg needs to bring people together.

“Orangeburg’s one of those communities, it needs a little bit of togetherness,” Carter said. “It needs a little bit of unity, and I feel like this is probably a good way to do that.”

“It takes a lot to organize something like this,” Carter said of O’Cain. “It says a lot about his character. He cares a lot about the county.”

Across the county, along 301 was Calhoun County Finance Director Denise Christmas. “I think litter control is a big issue in every county in South Carolina.”

Christmas said once she heard of the cleanup effort, she was all in.

“I feel strongly against litter,” she said. “We were excited.”

Christmas’ group had filled nearly 10 bags of trash and was just passing the halfway point.

She said although the effort is helpful, “pickup at every household” is needed.

“Have a company to come in and put a can at every household,” she said.