SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - Rich Dodd, a Southern Illinois University Carbondale student from Manteno in Kankakee County, said excessive litter along the roadways was something he noticed when he moved to Southern Illinois.

"I also noticed people out picking it up," he said.

He and other members of the pledge class of Beta Theta Pi were among the volunteers for the first litter pick-up scheduled by the Jackson County Cleanup Group on Saturday. The clean-up effort is part of the greater Southern Illinois Clean-up Campaign launched by Glenn Poshard one month ago at the Herrin Civic Center.

Each Southern Illinois county participating in the campaign has identified an overall chairperson and chairs for three committees per county - one each for roadway cleanup, municipality cleanup and youth education.

Saturday was the first major litter pickup scheduled by the Jackson County group. The target was U.S. 51 - the whole Jackson County stretch of it.

Dodd said he and the others in his group were there to perform a civil service, but also because "this place is such a mess."

He said picking up litter was a relatively painless way to contribute to the community. He said he and others in the pledge class would be back for future litter cleanups because they want to see Southern Illinois roadways stay clean and the area as beautiful as it should be.

Ray Lenzi, director of the Dunn-Richmond Center for SIUC, is the Jackson County chairman. He said about 80 volunteers were working in teams along the highway on Saturday. He said he expected about 200 bags of trash just from U.S. 51 alone.

"Things are going good today," he said. "It's a good kickoff for the campaign And at least it didn't rain."

Lenzi noted Bill Simonds of E. T. Simonds Construction had crews out on the highways over the past two weeks. He said Simonds said his crews were waiting on warmer weather for asphalt work, so he put them to beautifying the roadways they work on.

"We want to give them a big thank-you," Lenzi said. "They gave us a big jump-start."

Christen Jessen and Erica Sharko with the Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance were working U.S. 51 between Carbondale and De Soto Saturday. The BSISA has been involved in several previous weekend cleanups. The women said they were glad such an organized group as the Southern Illinois Cleanup Campaign was spearheading a multi-county effort.

"They seem really organized," Sharko said. "They provided us with orange vests, gloves and trash bags. We know we're surrounded by good people with this group."

Jessen said they had been asked to stay out of the ditches for safety reasons. She said it was a little frustrating to pick up bags of litter but leave the ditches choked with papers, bottles and cans.

"It's so muddy today, though," she said. "We just went past a big, wide ditch that was full of litter. At least here (by this little one) we can reach most of it."

In Williamson County, Saturday's kick-off was "Free Dump Day." County Commissioner Brent Gentry said the waste removal companies CWI, Southern Illinois Landfill and Midwest Waste Company all agreed to put huge dumpsters at various locations in the county. Gentry said they did so at their own expense as part of a way to help clean the county.

"Today is a perfect example of what we can do working together," he said.

Gentry said more than 100 vehicles came to the four sites to drop off TV sets, radios, old toys and garbage that wouldn't be picked up if left at the foot of a driveway. They weren't able to drop tires, appliances or batteries for this pickup, but most seemed grateful for the chance to drop other garbage.

"There is a problem with illegal dumping in Williamson County," Gentry said, adding that law enforcement was following up on leads that might lead to some stiff fines for several suspected offenders.

Gentry said a litter pickup has been scheduled for next Saturday, with several roadways targeted. He said he expects upwards of 100 volunteers. He hopes to be able to schedule people close to their homes so they won't have to shell out big bucks driving to a start site.

"We are raising awareness with this, too," he said. "Let me give an example. There was a guy on his way to the Creal Springs 'Free Dump' site, and he saw a mattress on the side of the road. So he stopped and picked it up and brought it along, too."

Several other Southern Illinois counties are also involved in the overall campaign and will be hosting litter pickup and other activities this spring.

To contact the Williamson County group, call (618) 997-1301 x135. For the Jackson County group, call (618) 536-4451. For other counties, the Web site www.beautifysouthernillinois.org will be available soon.

andrea.hahn@;thesouthern.com

618-529-5454 x15076