CHESAPEAKE — Dozens of church members and a 4-H group came together last weekend to do their part to clean up the county.

The effort, which worked to pick up litter on 12.5 miles of Symmes Creek Road was organized by Mark Roach, pastor of Mount Hope Missionary Baptist Church, who said it has been taking place for the last several years each spring.

Roach said volunteers came from Power Ranchers 4-H Club, along with members of his church, New Zion Baptist Church, Pomeria Missionary Baptist Church and Perkins Ridge Baptist Church took part in the effort to pick up litter along Greasy Ridge Road.

Altogether, there were 53 volunteers, who picked up 125 bags of litter.

Roach said they have worked in the past with the Lawrence-Scioto County Solid Waste Management District, who have provided bags for the pick up.

He said, in typical years, the volunteers gather at the church in the morning for fellowship and breakfast, though that was not possible this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, this year, the clean up took only a few hours, with volunteers spaced out along the highway.

“We had great people working hard at it,” he said.

He said more volunteers, from Old Baptist Church would be out this weekend finishing up on the road.

Lawrence County Commission president DeAnna Holliday, who launched Project First Impression in 2019 to clean up the county, commended the volunteers for their work.

“One of the things Project First Impression does is foster programs for collaboration,” she said.

She said that much the work is such a task that it exceeds what one government department can do and that working with the community, they are able to do more.

“Many of these groups adopt a road,” she said.

Holliday said that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed a lot of Project First Impression’s work over the past year, but things are picking up now.

“As the vaccines become more saturated and things are opening, we’re returning to action,” she said. “You’re going top see a lot more.”