Sep 4th 1958 MPH Coast Picnic Area Fenced Off In Wake of Litterbug Invasion

The Litterbugs have done it again!

As a characteristic “thank you” for the hospitality of Steve Patterson, landowner down the coast highway at Garrapata Creek, picnickers and merrymakers have littered his property with broken glass, beer cans and garbage, have dug up plants and cut down trees for firewood.

Patterson’s patience and that of neighboring property-owners have been exhausted, according to Dale Cox, litter control officer in the county sheriff’s office.  Patterson is now fencing off the land, putting up “no trespass” signs and barring all campers and picnickers from the premises.

“If this wanton thoughtlessness of a few litterbugs continues,”said Cox, “fewer and fewer recreational spots, public and private, will be open for people to enjoy.”

Cox would like to see a county-wide committee appointed to assist in an education program to combat the litterbug.

“Where such an educational program has been set up,” he pointed out, “the problem has been reduced by half. The saving to the taxpayer is an important item, too.  It is estimated that over $50 million of the taxpayers’ money is spent annually in the United States to clean up after the litterbug.”