By: Daniel Tyson
For: Williamson Daily News
The latest “Tire Tug of War” brought the total number of tires removed from the Tug Fork River to 19,634.
That’s an exceptional number for an event that started just eight years ago and has grown to include state and local participants.
The recent cleanup effort boasted a total of 363 waste tires recovered, said Pete Runyon, founder and president of Friends of the Tug Fork River.
The Sept. 1 event targeted a smaller area than usual — a shoal between Borderland and Nolan. The river was about a foot higher than normal, which made lifting the tires difficult, Runyon said.
“The undercurrent was strong,” he said. “We had to use our backs a bit more.”
Four canoes and three jon boats from StreamSweepers’ Clinch River Project helped with the collections. Runyon estimates the group collected 100 tires, as did a crew of local volunteers and Coalfield Development trainees, who entered the river from the Kentucky side at the shoal, he said.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s REAP team and Collins Services LLC winched the tires up the riverbank, loaded them and hauled them for disposal.
Runyon explained that winching made hauling 363 tires up a steep hill easier than carrying them.
“We just put the winch through the hole, looped it around the end tire, and they went up the bank,” he said.
The week before, volunteers collected about 250 tires in the Williamson area.
The Friends of the Tug Fork River’s Facebook page shows how its efforts are paying off. Scores of photos show people smiling and holding large fish they caught in the river, something that would not have happened a few decades ago.
Runyon said that approaching the collection of 20,000 waste tires is “staggering,” but he knows more tires are lurking at the bottom of the Tug Fork River.
The group has its eye on new spots to start the “Tire Tug of War” cleanup, including an island near Matewan.
For all its good environmental work, the nonprofit does need one thing.
“We need more volunteers,” Runyon said. “It can be back-breaking work, but we need more volunteers.”
Runyon wanted to thank Garfield Thacker for allowing the use of his land during the Sept. 1 cleanup.
For volunteer opportunities, call the organization at 304-236-3297, or stop by its downtown Williamson office at 25 E. Second Ave.
See More At: Williamson Daily News
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