Second annual Rock River Sweep brings in the trash...again

A water-logged lawn mower was the oddest catch of the day when 80 volunteers went trolling for trash at the second annual Rock River Sweep Aug. 21.

"Looks like the lawn mower is the item this year," said Tom Mahoney, one of the organizers and superintendent of Oregon schools. "You just never know what we'll find."

Saturday's effort was the second river clean up for Oregon. About 50 volunteers took part in the inaugural Rock River Sweep in June 2009.

The idea for the local clean-up day was the brainchild of Oregon resident Frank Masterman, an avid paddler. With the help of Forward Oregon, a not-for-profit community revitalization group based in Oregon, the 2009 event drew 50 volunteers who collected several truck loads of trash.

This year Masterman tried to expand the event to include all communities along the 285-mile Rock River.

The first annual "Great Rock River Sweep"  was supposed to include all the river communities from Horicon, Wisconsin to Moline, Illinois, and take place July 31. But heavy rains and high water conditions caused most of those efforts to be postponed or cancelled.

"We weren't able to have the one-day event that we had hoped for," said Masterman. "Mother Nature didn't cooperate with us real well with the water levels. We had record  flooding a week before the scheduled date, however some of the communities have come to together and will be picking up on their own dates."

Boy Scouts, high school students, and other volunteers started scouring the banks of the Rock River between Oregon and Castle Rock State Park at 8 a.m. and by 11 a.m. most had returned with bags of trash, bits of iron, a road sign, and tires.

Some volunteers used their own boats to journey out onto the river to snag plastic bottles and other debris from logs and felled trees. Bags and larger items were then picked up by Oregon Park District trucks and taken back to Kiwanis Park for sorting.

Some areas didn't have as much trash as volunteers expected.

"I think the high water may have 'swept' some of the trash away already. Wait, there's a can," said Cathy Wehmhoefer as she zeroed in on a crumpled beer can at Castle Rock State Park.