May 04, 2001

CHAMPIONS OF THE WAR ON LITTER Caltrans honors Adopt-A-Highway volunteers

By JACK MORAN-DN Staff Writer

LOS MOLINOS - They've nearly been run over by thundering big rigs, but according to Gail Heaney, the reason she and her husband Jack clean up State Routh 99 East is because "we have a defective gene that makes us go out and work hard for no money."

The Heaneys, who raise pygmy goats and mini-donkeys on their small Marek Road ranch, were honored this week by Caltrans as its District 2 Adopt-A-Highway Volunteers of the Year. Along with receiving a plaque and certificate from the state's road department, the couple was also handed a special Senate certificate of recognition from Sen. Maurice Johannessen.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I've never, ever littered," said Gail Heaney, who has a definite opinion on those who treat the world like their own personal garbage can.

"I think they're jerks," she said. "Litterbugs disrespect their community and their country. Sometimes when we're out there cleaning up, we actually get things thrown at us. Not too long ago, one guy drove by and threw a box of french fries at me."

The Heaneys, who joined the Adopt-A-Highway program in 1991 "because we wanted to do our part in keeping America clean," says Gail Heaney, report they pick up more drink cups than any other type of roadside garbage.

"Ten years ago, it was crushed cigarette packs," she said. "But now it's drink cups - coffee cups in the winter and soda cups when it gets warmer."

The Heaneys usually head out to their two-mile stretch of 99E all by themselves. Piece by piece, the couple fills 20 bags with trash, four times a year. That's a bunch of garbage.

"The reason we do this is because we have a defective gene that makes us go out and work hard for no money," said Gail Heaney with a laugh. "I have a habit of volunteering my services, and I always drag my husband along with me. On my headstone, it might say: This Woman Died From Volunteer Work."

That's really no joke, considering the speed and amount of traffic the Heaneys encounter when they walk perilously along the busy highway, making Tehama County a prettier place.

"We walk against traffic," explained Gail Heaney. When asked if she had any tips for other litter-picker-uppers, she laughed and said, "Wear a coat of armor."

Diana Weaver, Caltrans' Adopt-A-Highway Coordinator for District 2, which includes Tehama, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen and Plumas counties, said the Heaneys "have gone beyond their call-of-duty and have done an exemplary job of keeping our roadsides clean for the motoring public."

Gail Heaney just shrugs her shoulders when people compliment her for a job well-done.

"I never set out to be a professional volunteer," she said. "I just believe that we all need to help sometime."