Mormons spruce up Plummer

They came to find garbage.

None were disappointed.

Saturday saw a throng of about 300 Mormons from Kootenai County congregate in Plummer to collect litter.

After a few hours of scouring the railroad corridor by Highway 5, the church goers had stuffed three Dumpsters with trash, another Dumpster with metal and hauled away a load of abandoned railroad ties.

"We probably cleaned up a city area of two square miles in a few hours," said Jim Asper, committee chairman for the event. "I think it would've taken the city about 3 to 4 months of doing it on their own."

The church held similar clean-up events across the nation on Saturday, the 75th anniversary of the church's welfare program.

Folks sorting through the junk stumbled across items like old cars, a saw blade and tires, Asper said.

"It was just years and years of accumulation down there," he said. "We had people with tractors and trucks and a lot of hands."

He believes so many turned out because the local churches have pushed a message of service, he added.

"It's good to see if you put 600 hands together, how quick a project can be completed," Asper said.

Mormons spruce up Plummer