This week, a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) group applied to the Georgia DOT’s “Adopt-A-Highway” program to “kleanup” a stretch of US 76/GA 2/515 (Zell Miller Mountain Parkway) in Union County. GDOT sent the Klan this letter of denial.
After receiving the denial, the International Keystone Knights of the KKK has asked the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to assist them in their efforts to adopt Union County’s westernmost mile of 515.
Per Georgia DOT’s “Adopt-A-Highway” guidelines, “any civic-minded organization, business, individual, family, city, county, state, or federal agency is welcome to volunteer”. Does the Klan fall under such guidelines? I think not!!!
This morning, I viewed their website (I will not provide a link) and found a section that contains blatantly racist jokes and photos against non-white people. No civic group worth their salt would post such crap (or use the “n-word”) on their websites or any other publication.
As a result of the Klan’s recent application, GDOT is reviewing it’s “Adopt-A-Highway” guidelines, is not accepting any new applications, and is returning any applications that are in the “review” stage.
Here in my local community, I am a member of a local Lions Club, a nearly 100-year-old organization that is dedicated to the health and well-being of all citizens, regardless of race, color, religion, etc. Never have I heard of a Lions Club engaging in (or inciting) activities against any particular group of people. Sadly, we currently are unable to adopt any stretch of GDOT-maintained highway, thanks to the KKK. 
So how can we keep Georgia’s highways clean in the meantime? IMHO, the answer lies in Georgia’s state prisons and local jails. Put more inmates (at least those classified as “non-violent”) to work picking up trash. We already pay taxes to keep them incarcerated. It would be a nice “return-on-investment” to organize them into supervised work details and have them “earn their keep” and pay their proverbial debt to society by keeping our state and local roads clean.
Frankly, if I had to choose between spending tax dollars in litigation between the Klan and GDOT and eliminating the “Adopt-A-Highway” program, I’d prefer the latter. Again, we’ve got a potential labor pool in Georgia’s prisons and jails. Let’s use them to keep our roads clean. As for the KKK, I have absolutely no use for them and life’s way to short to go “hating” on folks.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, visit our Facebook and Twitter pages, and please come back often.
SOURCES:
– “DOT Rejects Klan Application To Adopt Highway, Legal Challenge Likely“, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 12, 2012