Every two weeks, Linnie Gregory grabs a trash bag and walks the 3/5-mile of frontage at his property on Blacksburg Road west of Fincastle— picking up “other people’s trash.”

He’s getting tired of it.

Easter afternoon marked the 22nd year he’s been picking up trash. That afternoon the haul reflected 33 gallons of beer and soft drink cans and bottles; and included assorted plastic, styrofoam, paper, cups, napkins and “to go bags” from fast food restaurants.

“I do this to keep our property clean and neat for us, our neighbors and motorists passing by,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “However, as I approach my 81st birthday, I don’t know how long I can keep it up.”

After 22 years, every other week, he calculates that equals 572 trips, walking the 3/5-mile both ways, he’s covered 343 miles picking up 18,876 gallons of trash. “Other folks’ litter that I then take to and pay the landfill to depose of,” he notes.

“I implore the Sheriff’s Department, the Board of Supervisors, to take note… to enforce the law, and to arrest open container or drunk drivers guilty of this mess,” he asked.

“By the way, (the Easter) bag consists of a large part of a Toyota grill and every-two-weeks worth of Budweiser, the King of Beers, cans and my litter.”