Task force needed

This is a disgrace. I am speaking about how polluted our desert has become with all of the debris left by homeless people and others who are abusing our landscape.

You cannot believe it , unless you see it, which I did last Saturday, when I went to out to see what one group that is trying to clean-up the desert is doing. I am writing about the Community Coalition of the Antelope Valley.

I went to help and thought I would be picking up paper, cans and bottles which I did. In no time, I had filled a large black bag and then I looked around. There were tires, shopping carts, plywood boards, blankets, medical waste and there was even a stolen vehicle abandoned in a gully. I am stunned with what I saw.

I immediately removed plywood boards (a couple the size of your car) from the dirt road into the area along with sleeping bags and blankets. We tossed them into a huge dumpster provided by, I presume, the city. I do not know.

Speaking of the cities, how could Lancaster and Palmdale allow this open space between Avenue L-8 and Avenue M deteriorate so much? Isn’t there anyone focusing on the debris and garbage in the flood control channels and the desert floor? Isn’t it about time that the cities handled this problem?

I call upon both cities and the county to create a task force of workers and managers to go out and clean-up our home. Yes, this is our home. Forget your pet projects, let’s handle this health crisis and do it now. We volunteers are going to be out in the blowing sand and dirt, why can’t paid city workers be out there, too? Michael Rives

Lancaster