Several Ocala residents wrote in to voice their frustrations regarding the amount of roadside trash that is found throughout Marion County.
“As the former organizer of a local Adopt-A-Road effort for a 55-plus community in Ocala, I agree wholeheartedly that littering is a learned behavior. And here as why: I learned the opposite from the ‘old man.’ Long ago, on one of the family’s Sunday drives, my brother threw a gum wrapper out of the window of the Buick. In the rearview mirror, he was caught by Dad, who calmly brought the big wagon to a halt on the roadside, and after giving him some ‘fatherly advice,’ Dad sent him back to retrieve it. I can safely say that is why littering of any kind continues to infuriate me 60 years later. I never forgot that episode and have never, ever littered myself. Grow up and stop making our roadways reflect what you do in your own home. It’s disgusting,” says Ocala resident Ed Britton.
“I live in southwest Ocala near 60th and SR 200. We have horrible trash along the roads, and it’s even worse behind the Walgreens. Thank you for doing an article. Please expose more because we need to do something. What happened to the DAB company and the prisoners that used to pick up trash? I haven’t seen any of that. Most Florida cities have nice landscaping and are clean. We have shrubs next to most roads. Unless we take care of this issue, people will continue to trash the roads and that will lead to crime because they don’t care if we don’t,” says Susie Blanchard, Ocala resident.
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