Local priest crusades against litter
County urges community to participate in clean-up, prevention
The stretch of Rock Point Road in front of Holy Ghost Church is a picturesque slice of Charles County scenery, complete with soy bean farms and winding driveways leading to quaint houses. Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of one local priest, it’s also overrun by litter of all types.
The Rev. Robert Golas has made it his mission to remove the trash and debris along both sides of the street by the church. He’s been at Holy Ghost for the past year after being reassigned from Indian Head. Golas has lived in Charles County since 2004 and said the litter issue has gotten progressively worse.
“I just want to do my civic duty,” said Golas, sporting a reflective vest and work gloves over his priestly garb. “As a priest, I think we’re stewards of God’s creation, and He gives us a little portion of the vineyard to take care of. My little parish is my little portion of the vineyard.”
Golas enlisted his local Knights of Columbus chapter to assist with litter pickup on Aug. 19, and the group filled five trash bags with refuse located half a mile north and south of the church. The priest set out again on the following Wednesday with the help of Tom Mayer, who drove behind Golas as he scooped up Pepsi bottles and McDonald’s wrappers. After half an hour of work, Golas matched the bag total from the weekend.
“He’s something else, isn’t he?” said Mayer, the grand knight of the Newburg group. “Not many priests would do what he’s doing. He’s going above and beyond.”
Before he began his personal efforts against litter, Golas reached out to Charles County Board of Commissioners’ President Peter Murphy (D) for assistance. Through email, Murphy explained while the recent campaign to “Keep Charles County Beautiful” has educated residents on trash disposal and increased the county’s recycling efforts, the onus remains on citizens to combat the problem.
“People have to want to prevent clutter and debris from being on our roads,” Murphy wrote in his email correspondence with Golas.
Charles County government has made several attempts toward litter abatement, adding a new team to the three crews who pick up litter on a daily basis as well as holding community and watershed cleanups. The recycling and litter control superintendent of Charles County Public Works, Frances Sherman, said the department routinely visits local schools to educate students about recycling and trash disposal. They also partner with the Alice Ferguson Foundation for an annual cleanup event in April, which encourages other organizations to participate in litter removal year-round.
“There are a lot of groups that realize the litter and the problem is not just a springtime occurrence, and they take it upon themselves to schedule events throughout the year,” Sherman said.
In addition to community outreach, the department also has the Adopt A Road program, where organizations in the area can select portions of the roadway to protect and tidy up. Sherman said about 90 groups take part in the county, and are required to clean the road three times a calendar year. This activity is meant to not only improve county aesthetics but also to inspire residents to avoid soiling the streets in the first place.
“When the litter bugs actually see community members investing in that area and making it beautiful, they’re less likely to litter,” Sherman said.
The nearby Knights of Columbus are one of those 90 or so participants, having adopted part of the road in front of the church and just past it. Golas has told his congregation about his war on litter and hopes he and the Knights can inspire more people to join the cause. Just like Sherman and Murphy, he understands the issue must be snuffed out at the source.
“I realize the government can’t do everything, that’s why I’m leaning toward the community taking more responsibility,” Golas said.