Let's not make our state the subject of trash talk

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Guest column • Beth Templeton: People in poverty need services now more than ever (11/05/03) • Dr. Patricia Marby Harrison: Schools now burdened with teaching 'life skills' (11/04/03) • Lewis Vaughn: Education is clear priority in South Carolina (11/03/03) • Dean Cohagan: Bi-Lo Charity Classic continues to make a difference (11/02/03) • David Shi: Alumni loyalty to Furman rings true (11/02/03) More details Lou Holtz is in his fifth season as head football coach at the University of South Carolina. He remarked soon after moving here that the state was "pretty trashy" and quickly became involved in efforts to clean up South Carolina.

I promise to:

1. Pick up one piece of litter every day.

2. Remind friends, neighbors and relatives never to litter.

3. Participate in at least one cleanup every year.

4. Do my part to keep South Carolina litter-free.

Litter is more than just an eyesore. It's spoiling our reputation as caring, thoughtful people in a friendly, welcoming state. And, worse yet, it's bad for our economic future. We would all love to see more jobs, better jobs, higher paying jobs in our state, but trash on the roads and in our cities and towns makes South Carolina a lot less appealing to new business and industry, and that's where new, better jobs come from.

Many people remember me making a comment a few years back about this otherwise lovely state having unsightly roadsides: "We must have the cleanest cars in America, because all the trash is out along the highways." Apparently plenty of people agreed.

The state immediately created an anti-litter organization — PalmettoPride — that has done a good job of getting the message into schools, businesses and neighborhoods throughout the state. Keep America Beautiful named PalmettoPride's 2002 anti-litter television campaign the best in the nation. Working together, PalmettoPride and the Departments of Transportation and Corrections have reduced litter on our interstates by 33 percent.

If you want to make a difference and want more ways to help, I suggest you log on to www.palmettopride.org where you'll find a list of 50 ways you can help fight litter. It includes simple things like "don't litter" and "pick up one piece of litter every day" and more involved opportunities like joining your local Keep America Beautiful affiliate and becoming an anti-litter volunteer all year around.

South Carolina is an exceptional place, and my wife and I are proud and happy to be living in this beautiful state with such caring people, and I mean all the people.