While most people see no benefit in sacrificing their personal time to pick up someone else's trash, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Lugo and his wife, Yenny, perceive it differently. For more than a year, they have been conserving their environment and teaching their two boys, Kevin and Bryan, that while it takes no effort to litter, it requires great effort to pick it up.
"Kids need to see how littering hurts the environment and how cleaning it up requires work,"
said Lugo, of the Black Canyon Recruiting Station. "It's a great way to teach our kids responsibility and they take pride in how great the two mile stretch looks after we are done removing the trash. We also try and make it a fun family event and even include our dog, Doogie."
On saturday mornings once or twice a month, the Lugo family spends two hours picking up
debris along a two-mile stretch of Galvin Peak Road near their residence in Anthem, Northwest of Phoenix. They are shadowing a USAREC legacy by participating in the Adopt-a-Highway Program which allows people or organizations to help preserve and maintain sections of roadside. In addition, the Lugo Family is maintaining an "Army Strong" public image by exemplifying to the community the Army Values: Selfless Service -- volunteering their time;
Respect -- by means of preserving the environment; and Integrity -- by fulfilling their
commitment to pick up debris along the two-mile section of roadway.
To participate in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Adopt-a-Highway Program,
individuals or organizations must complete a two year permit application and perform roadside
cleanups three to four times each year. ADOT provides safety training, trash bags, and two
posted signs at each end of the adopted section. Nearly every state has an Adopt-a-Highway
Program. For more information, go to: www.azdot.gov/highways/adoptahwy/index.asp, or
contact your state Department of Transportation.
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