Cleaning teams tackle garbage, debris littering Wears Creek

Winette Swanson looks closely as she walks along the edge of the creek bank while helping remove trash and debris from Wears Creek during the second annual Wears Creek clean-up event in Jefferson City on Saturday.
Winette Swanson looks closely as she walks along the edge of the creek bank while helping remove trash and debris from Wears Creek during the second annual Wears Creek clean-up event in Jefferson City on Saturday.

For the second straight year, volunteers took time to pick up debris and garbage that has collected along Wears Creek in Jefferson City.

More than 100 people of all ages and from various civic groups spent Saturday morning scrounging along the creek bed and banks from Washington Park downstream to the Millbottom area, where the stream is bordered by two state parking lots.

"You'll find a little of everything from tires and banana peals to old jars of pickles," said Naomi Gebo, a Stream Team biologist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Years ago, there was annual clean up along the creek, but it wasn't until last year that ....