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“If they want to have Nazis out there stomping on a Jewish-named highway, that’s their choice.”. Clean communities are a source of pride for all of us who call South Carolina home. PalmettoPride is excited to bring Adopt-A-Highway into our Pickup program. Our wonderful volunteers are invaluable to keeping our state clean. Earlier this year, several cities allowed the fast-food chain KFC to fill potholes and stencil “Re-Freshed by KFC” in temporary lettering on them. In Missouri, members of the National Socialist Movement spent last Saturday cleaning up their bit of road and last Sunday protesting homosexuality. Kentucky officials were surprised to learn from reporters this year that the National Alliance, a white separatist group, had adopted a highway. A federal judge later ordered the sign back up. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Representative Sara Lampe, a Springfield Democrat who introduced the renaming bill, said a memorial sign approved by the legislature sent a stronger signal than an Adopt-a-Highway sign. And after Connecticut officials worried aloud about “suggestive” billboard advertisements on one of their highways, a store that sells pornography adopted parts of the highway. Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, said officials initially hoped they could terminate the contract, but determined that doing so would open them to costly litigation that might fail. But their Adopt-a-Highway sign, which says “Litter Cleanup 0.5 Miles National Socialist Movement Springfield Unit,” upset people in the area, particularly Jews. Since then, tens of thousands of volunteers have reduced litter and also saved taxpayers millions of dollars annually in roadside cleanup costs. Since the program's inception in 1989, our volunteers have collected more than 12 million pounds of litter from Tennessee's roadsides. The Adopt a Highway program provides an opportunity for community members and businesses to help keep our highways litter free. Several years before, the Missouri Department of Transportation had lost a long legal battle to try and prevent the Ku Klux Klan from adopting a highway on freedom-of-speech grounds. South Carolina has beautiful landscapes – from the lush green mountains to the coastal waterways. Our state and local governments do not have the resources available to clean up the litter on our roadways. Some states are grappling with how to administer the programs, which have become widespread in the past two decades. Litter has been reduced by 60% over the past 30 years. The vast majority of highways are adopted by civic groups and businesses. “Adopt-a-Highway signs are self-requested. The renaming, which would take effect this summer, was approved by the legislature as part of a large transportation bill. Adopt-A-Highway fits … California’s Adopt-a-Highway program stopped accepting new applicants about a year ago to re-evaluate its program. Since 1988, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers have been cleaning up litter along South Carolina highways. Officials are renaming the stretch of highway near Springfield that the organization cleans after Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who fled Nazi Germany and became a prominent Jewish theologian and civil rights advocate in the United States. I am assuming you are referring to one of these type of signs: This means that the sponsor, in this case “Carl’s Jr”, is paying for things like highway cleanup. Ms. Keene said members of the group, who sometimes wear swastikas, wanted to do community service. The state wants to rename the stretch of road adopted by the neo-Nazi group after the Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Since 1988, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers have been cleaning up litter along South Carolina highways. The Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee in Kansas City hit on the idea of renaming the road. “We decided about a year ago we wanted to get more involved,” she said. The renaming is not popular with some members of the National Socialist Movement. Announcing the 20th Anniversary Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest! Adopt-A-Highway fits into our mission of eradicating litter and promoting beautification in our great state. Become a volunteer and your group will be doing something great for your community. When a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Movement volunteered last year to clean a Missouri highway, and get official recognition for it in the form of an Adopt-a-Highway sign, state officials felt powerless to refuse. “I think it’s childish,” said Cynthia Keene, right. Your group will pick up litter as outlined in your agreement. Please check with your AAH Coordinator about location availability prior to sending in your application, and to determine where to send the application. Your group will Adopt … We look forward to making your experience with Adopt-A-Highway worthwhile and fun. The Adopt-A-Highway program, which began in 1989, has been one of the truly successful government-public partnerships of our time. But their Adopt-a-Highway sign, which says “Litter Cleanup 0.5 Miles National Socialist Movement Springfield Unit,” upset people in the area, particularly Jews. 49 out of 50 states have some type of Sponsor-A-Highway or Adopt-A-Highway program Facing budget cuts and safety issues, states are looking for alternative ways to keep roadways safe There is a real … In response, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals offered to pave potholes if they could write “KFC Tortures Animals” on them. Sign up for our Newsletter to stay up to date with everything happening around the country and in your community. So the state decided to counter the Nazi group’s speech with more speech, in the form of another roadside sign. Tons of trash are picked up every year by Adopt a Highway … Clean communities are good for tourism and economic development. The state has been tangled in litigation over the program since it tried to remove an Adopt-a-Highway sign it had awarded to the San Diego Minutemen, a self-appointed border patrol group, on a stretch of road near an official Border Patrol checkpoint in Southern California. So they took a rather clever tack. Latino lawmakers and immigrants’ rights groups had objected to the sign and accused the Minutemen of promoting discrimination. In some Adopt-a-Highway programs, sponsors clean up the roads themselves, while in others they hire contractors. Members of the National Socialist Movement picking up litter last weekend along Route 160 near Springfield, Mo. The group was refused. Privacy Policy. Complete an Adopt-A-Highway … Maryland Sponsor A Highway® Program Av e r a g e Daily Tr a ff ic (A D T ) co u nts upwards of 241 ,000 ca r s e v e r y d a y on some of M a ry lan d ’s b u siest r oa dw a y s ( M a r y land De p a r tmen t of Tr … Adopt-a-Highway is a roadside clean-up program that promotes pride and local ownership in Washington. “I think it’s childish,” said Cynthia Keene, 38, a sergeant in the group’s Springfield unit. The group’s Web site calls for a nation where “only those of pure White blood” who are not Jewish or gay can be citizens, and demanding that “all non-Whites currently residing in America be required to leave the nation forthwith and return to their land of origin: peacefully or by force.”. The Springfield unit of the neo-Nazi group volunteered with the state last year to adopt a half-mile stretch of the highway. “It was not an original thought,” confessed Michael Abrams, the group’s chairman, who recalled how a stretch of road near downtown St. Louis that had been adopted by the Ku Klux Klan was renamed in 2000 for Rosa Parks. The group chose Rabbi Heschel as an appropriate person to honor, noting that he marched in Alabama with the Rev. Most sponsors are corporations, but I have seen … For more information, contact the Adopt-A-Highway statewide manager. The governor has not yet signed the bill but supports the concept of renaming the road, an aide said. The episode highlights some of the complications that can ensue as states increasingly turn to private groups to keep their ever-growing networks of roads clean. These valuable contributions are helping produce cleaner roadsides, reduce maintenance costs… Want to help keep SC beautiful but don't have a lot of time? More than 120,000 Californians have cleaned and enhanced over … 51.2 billion pieces of litter are left on roadways in the United States equaling 6,729 pieces per mile. Join the Adopt-A-Highway Program. Any business can request a sign.”, In Missouri, a Fight Over a Highway Adoption. The group’s sign honored its late founder, William Pierce, whose novel “The Turner Diaries” inspired Timothy J. McVeigh to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. PalmettoPride is excited to bring Adopt-A-Highway into our Pickup program. Our communities are surrounded by lakes, rivers, mountains, farmlands, national forests and state parks. But states have little leeway when it comes to signing off on the adoption papers for their roads, and several have found themselves compelled to put up signs recognizing groups with long histories of racism or anti-Semitism or associations or businesses that have engendered controversy. Adopt-A-Highway has more than 120,000 participants … TDOT Adopt-A-Highway groups help keep Tennessee beautiful! “Memorial highways are about people we honor and we value,” she said. Iowa Department of Transportation Adopt-A-Highway program, 49 out of 50 states have some type of Sponsor-A-Highway or Adopt-A-Highway program, Facing budget cuts and safety issues, states are looking for alternative ways to keep roadways safe, There is a real need for litter-free highways for safety, environmental and aesthetic reasons, It can provide a viable green initiative to add to your marketing campaign, Adopt-a-Highway signage creates and strengthens your brand awareness to mobile consumers. Either way, the programs free up millions of dollars in pinched state transportation budgets for more vital maintenance projects. We live here, work here and play here. Clean communities are safe communities. Unfortunately, though, there are still people who insist on littering. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The measure is not popular, though, with some members of the National Socialist Movement, who clean a half-mile stretch four times a year. Keep South Carolina Beautiful needs your help in finding locations to place FREE cigarette litter bins.

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