Amidst the spirit of spring cleaning, one local Fentress County resident leading an efforts to clean up a 12-miles stretch of US 127.
Jim Buck said he started with social media to organize a team of more than 80 volunteers. He said parents and grandparents to high school athletes, helped pitch-in and clean up
“I contacted the state about doing the two-mile pickup and how they would help, and they were very tickled,” Buck said. “Of course, I work in Jamestown, Tennessee which is 12 miles away… I’m an idiot and I thought, ‘Let’s do 12 miles. Let’s do six, two-mile sections.’ Well, the state has never done that before and they were very excited about doing it.”
Buck and his army of volunteers picked up and discarded over 500, 50-gallon trash bags worth of roadside litter in just under four hours.
“I love our community,” Buck said. “If you’re from here, you love it. Going up the mountain, it’s never been picked up. It got terrible.”
The state provided Buck and other volunteers with work vests, gloves and tools used to pickup trash. Fentress County Solid Waste put up signs and the local fire and sheriff departments provided units to secure safe passage for the cleanup crew. EMS even provided an ambulance in case of emergency.
Buck had local business sponsors commit to cleaning certain stretches of road. The Fentress County Sheriff’s and Trustees Office handled the most dangerous portion of the highway, a winding, mountainous interstate that connects Jamestown and Pall Mall.
Through his vision and community organization, Buck and company transformed the mountain interstate from a roadside trash dump and restored it to the beauty its residents have grown to enjoy and expect.
“You cannot live in a better place. Anything you need help or volunteers [with], this community jumps in there and does it,” Buck said.
Buck and the community plan to repeat the cleanup effort twice a year, which will be much easier, he said, after the massive undertaking just a few weeks ago.
Buck said they have already inspired many others to join the fray as the Adopt-a-Highway program coincides with The Greatest American Cleanup 2026 project which runs from March 1 to June 22.
The movement has already caused some young people to dissuade their peers from trashing the road and increased awareness around littering across the area.
“It’s spotless now. There’s not a piece of trash on the 12-mile section. It looks so good,” Buck said. “You’re putting pride back into the communities. The pride is there, but you have to ring the bell and say ‘Hey, let’s look at it.’”