“Taking Our Valley Back”: Round Valley Residents Band Together to Clean-Up Roadways

Paula Fugman, a 45-year Round Valley resident and former educator, sensed “dismay, angst, and disillusionment” as the community saw their roadsides become littered with garbage. In an act of civic duty, Fugman and a rag-tag gang of yellow-vested do-gooders sought to “take our valley back by being stewards.” Over the last month, the cleaning brigade has spruced up over five miles of roadsides and is planning more events in the future.

Fugman said the first cleaning effort was organized by Lew Chichester, Round Valley School Board member, and a well-known KYBU radio personality. The plan was to meet at Inspiration Point, a prominent landmark on Highway 162 that overlooks Round Valley, and clean up the roadway as it descends to the valley floor. Ten community members showed up, Fugman said, and by the end of the day, 40 bags of trash had been collected along the highway.

After the first success, Fugman recruited Jessi Alvarado, local business owner and one of the main organizers of the Covelo Christmas efforts, in order to encourage “the younger generation” to come out and help. Alvarado issued an all-call on social media and Fugman said M & M Feed & Supply contributed vests, garbage bags, trash grabbers, and other safety equipment for participants.

On the day of the second clean-up effort, participants met up at the intersection of Highway 162 and Poonkinney Road at the south end of the valley. To Fugman’s delight, 50 residents showed up ready to do their part to clean up the valley’s roadways.

Fugman described how participants got into groups and began assigning themselves to specific sections of the roadway. By the end of the clean-up, both sides of Highway 162 were litter-free and volunteers had even been able to begin to clean up the roadways of Covelo proper.

In an arrangement with Caltrans, participants took the 70 bags of trash volunteers had gathered to the corner of Highway 162 and Poonkinney where a worker named Brian would come and pick them up.

Fugman explained that one of the contributing factors to the valley’s littered roadways is the limited number of receptacles at Round Valley’s transfer station. She has heard stories of people going to the dump, waiting in line, and being told there was no room for their garbage leading some to dump their trash along the roadway. As the roadways became eyesores, Fugman said it became essential for residents to consider “alternative ways to deal with the trash.”

 

Fugman thought back to her time as a teacher in Round Valley nearly twenty years ago when, she said, “I had a crew of K-12 students in an independent study program. We received a state award for cleaning up Mina Road.” The road, Fugman said, had become a terrible dumpsite. Working together with the City of Willits and Chamber of Commerce, she and her class filled up what she called a “mega-dumpster” with garbage, painted murals discouraging illegal dumping, and, for many years after, the roadway was clean.

Since recent clean-up efforts, Fugman says she is excited every time she drives into town and sees the roadways free of litter. She said there have been rumors and sightings around the valley of residents walking along roadsides with a bag in hand doing their part to pick up trash.

 

Fugman spoke of the spirit of Round Valley as “an ocean with currents of regret and currents of renaissance” where community members work together to enact change. She thinks the clean-up efforts provide an opportunity for residents to “integrate the desire to deal with the dismay and unhappiness caused by the proliferation of illegal grows and garbage in this community.”

The next Round Valley clean-up effort will take place this coming Saturday. For anyone that wants to participate, volunteers are meeting at the Covelo Methodist Church located at 77834 Covelo Rd, Covelo, CA 95428. Efforts will take place between 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and will focus on the roadsides north of Covelo.