First Mon River Information Kiosk

I'm very happy to post that we have installed the first Mon River Information Kiosk in the Morgantown area. With funding from GenPower (the Longview Power Plant) and support from others, this weekend we dug into the ground where Decker's creek enters the Mon and sunk 12foot 6" X 6" posts four feet into the ground to support the kiosk (Thanks, Rich Farley!). Fortunately the ground was free of roots and rocks! (Click once, twice, to see larger photos).

The purpose of this kiosk (two more are planned) is to point citizens toward a nearby litter barrel (which you can see in one of the wide photos). It's that simple. But it goes beyond that. Each kiosk will be "sponsored" by a youth group. The first is sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church Sunday school group. This brings to the kids a couple messages about the environment and their roles. And the kids will also help in litter cleanups. (In the photo are, from left Charlie Huguenard, Tim Terman and Joe Douglass. Charlie and Joe are from Longview. In the top photo is Chris Wilson, who helped me build and install the kiosk)

On the kiosk is a map of the Upper Mon Water Trail, which I had a part in establishing back in 2002), a rather lengthy history of the river, a photo of the youth group holding a banner saying "Help Keep Our River Clean, Use the Litter Barrel," a photo of a dead albatross, and credits to the Mon River Revival, Longview and the City of Morgantown.

Dead albatross?,you may ask. Sure. We pick up lots of bottle caps and plastic cigarette lighters, items that float to the ocean and are swallowed by these grand birds (who are on the endangered list) which kills them. The point is that being against the litter isn't just about a blemish on the river (although that's important).

Here's a photo of the First Presbyterian Church Sunday school kids and their leaders. Ruth Donaldson is the person who contacted me to get them involved. My plan is to have these all up the river! Gotta work on that this winter.