PHOTOS: Cleanup at ‘The Bog,’ before and after
We’ve reported before on efforts to clean up “The Bog” – and to make it less conducive to illegal camping, drug use, and crime. Aside from other concerns raised by those activities, the fact is that the area needs to stay clean because of its role in the area’s drainage system (as today’s rain reminds us).
The latest cleanup was a big one, and community member Gill Loring shares photos as well as post-cleanup info from King County senior engineer Ken Gresset, who, as we’ve reported here previously, has been leading cleanup efforts:
This past weekend, Ken and a group “Friends of the Trail” (their second time helping out) as well as a NH resident and her daughter got to it.
Excerpted from Ken’s e-mail: “Many thanks to all involved for a great cleanup last weekend. The group “Friends of the Trail” led by Wade Holden pulled out all the stops over two days and took 8 large truckloads of debris to the dump along with around 40 syringes.
Many thanks to Deputies Kennamer, Paul and Syson for their onsite security work and for Captain Boe for arranging their presence. Thanks also to North Highline residents Christine and her daughter who braved the onsite conditions to help out. The Sheriff’s department gave the campers three weeks of almost constant notice that the cleanup was coming and to take any possessions they wanted to keep with them.
On another bright note we did encounter one of the campers who seemed sincerely interested in getting help and we are working with a neighbor who knows her to get her connected to social services.”
Excerpted from another e-mail: “I walked all of the trails today. I didn’t find any camps and only encountered one person in the area. I explained the trespass laws to him and he moved along.
The key is going to be continued police presence to make the place unattractive to the illegal users. As soon as the place is posted, we will start enforcing the trespass laws. The place looks great!”
And from the North Highline resident who helped: “My daughter & I were able to help for about an hour or so…It was disgusting, smelled really bad back there & yet people were willing to live in that! Ken, the “trails crew” was great! They pulled out several mattresses, sofa, tv, clothes & crap – yes, really! Hopefully in the future there can be a work party to start clearing out some of that brush to open things up a bit more! I’d be there, just let me know when!”
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October 7th, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Where is this, exactly?
October 9th, 2015 at 11:36 am
Helen,
According to a previous blog post http://whitecenternow.com/2015/01/11/followup-crews-making-cleanup-progress-at-the-bog/ the “bog” is bounded by Roxbury, 100th, 11th & 12th.
October 9th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Great point, Helen! The official name is “White Center Neighborhood Pond” more fondly called the Bog. It is located from Roxbury south on the east side of 12th Ave. S.W. There is a bus stop on Roxbury with an open grassy area around it. Nice stairway and ramp up into Greenbridge on the corner of 12th/98th
October 12th, 2015 at 12:24 pm
This park has the potential to become a very nice asset for White Center. What it needs is more eyes on it all the time, which more of us in the area going there to enjoy it more often. Personally, I’d like to see some sort of eye-catching sculpture at the top of the stairs clearly visible from 98th & 16th. Something that would make people say, “Wow, that looks interesting – let’s go up there and see what it is!”
October 13th, 2015 at 11:48 am
“…which MEANS more of us in the area…