![]() ![]() The average weight per clean up is approximately 50 pounds or more, however, that does not include bottles, tires, or wood left around the lake. In less than one year the group has held almost 15 cleanups at area parks including Ticky Creek Park, Lavonia Park, Pebble Beach, Lake Lavon Dam, and various other unmarked locations resulting from illegal dumpers. “They have donated fishing poles, pontoon boat rentals and guided fishing trips because they believe in, and support our cause,” Grote said. Lake Lavon Water Sports, Pro Angler Tackle and DFW Pro Angler sponsored the event and donated prizes to give back to the volunteers. Ranger Jonathan Boyce and Fire Marshall Matt Jones rolled up their sleeves and worked alongside the volunteers picking up trash, tires and couches. They also covered the dump fees. The Army Corps of Engineers pitched in and provided a 30 yard dumpster. The event was sponsored by Barnes Waste Disposal Services, who reached out to the group and sent a dumpster, a professional driver and a large tractor to assist. Grote said, “That cleanup was the largest turnout yet, with almost fifty volunteers joining forces.” The project was a bit overwhelming considering the volume of trash – and large items. He told me that a special investigator was assigned to sift through the garbage and look for clues as to who dumped it,” Grote reported. “I went out there to evaluate it for a possible cleanup location and there was actually a ranger there. ![]() In November 2017 the group was alerted to an illegal dumpsite in Princeton behind the Dollar General store on FM 982 off an inlet of the lake. The Facebook page, Lake Lavon Cleanup, now has 650 followers. Since last summer the group has garnered support and grown to an impressive force of community volunteers – all passionate about the same things – the lake, water quality, and wildlife. “It took off like wildfire,” Grote declared. He pledged to partner with the group as much as possible.Ī second group cleanup followed one week later at the same park with double the amount of volunteers. Kinard explained they had unexpectedly lost their trash service provider at the parks and it took them a bit to get the new contract in place. He eventually connected with Michael Kinard, Lake Lavon Manager of the Army Corps of Engineers. Grote reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers and anyone else he could think of to assist with picking up the larger items. “Somebody actually hung a beer bottle in a tree.” “It is unbelievable the things that people do,” Grote said. The volunteers picked up only trash that could be bagged, but there were bulkier items such as couches, tires, roofing materials and fence pickets that had been dumped around the lake. A half dozen volunteers filled eight trash bags in about half an hour. The first organized cleanup effort was at Tickey Creek Park campground near Princeton. The intention was to stage community meetups to mobilize volunteers to pick up trash along shorelines, parks and in picnic/camping areas around Lake Lavon. He created a Facebook group called Lake Lavon Clean-Up that same month to help promote and preserve the lake. “We, as a community around Lake Lavon, have had it with the litter left by disrespectful people,” he wrote in an email last July. Grote knew if he didn’t start something the trash problem wouldn’t improve. Still toting a fishing pole and a camera, he quickly became frustrated with the mess around his favorite fishing spots. Those images remained clear especially after Grote moved back to the area from West Texas in June 2017. David Grote, an avid fisherman and freelance photographer, used to find secret, clean fishing spots around Lake Lavon to spend his recreation time.ĭuring his senior year at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in photography in 2013, he completed a project in which he shot pictures of Lake Lavon, showing the beauty and trash. Local group tackles trash, and much more, at the lakeĪ passion for fishing turned a local man into an activist last year when trash, not fish, caught his eye. ![]()
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