By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Last summer, Sheila Honeycutt and her husband, Harold, found a bird along Lake Tohopekaliga with fishing line wrapped around its beak. It was starving.

The couple raced home for a net to capture the bird and scissors to free its beak.

The Honeycutts live directly across from the lake and often walk along its shore, where they frequently see trash floating in the water or blown against a tree.

“Keep it on your boat or use the trash receptacles. I just wish people were more mindful,” Sheila Honeycutt said.

Honeycutt, former president of the Lakeshore Homeowners Association, joined nearly 90 Kissimmee residents and city staffers Saturday at the Tidy Up Toho event, which was funded by a $1,000 grant the city won from Reader’s Digest after being nominated for the award by a resident, who requested the money be used to clean up the fishing destination.

Honeycutt and Christina Bell, manager of Kissimmee Golf Club, manned the “grandma” canoe with two other teams while other groups gathered debris from the shoreline or painted curbs, picnic tables and the sign at Brinson Park.

Five hundred ninety pounds of garbage was removed from the lake and its shoreline, including what one volunteer said was “a gazillon” cigarette butts. Plastic fishing worm containers and the occasional plastic cooler top or satellite dish also were items among the debris collected.

Nicole Fraticelli’s fourth-graders from Bellalago Academy chose to clean the lake after discussing community service projects.

“A lot of the kids and their families spend time at the lakefront,” Fraticelli, who heads the school’s recycling program, said.  “We’re building a relationship (among) the school, parents and the community.”

City staff, according to Steve Lackey, Kissimmee Parks and Recreation’s assistant director, collect trash weekly along the shore and by boat biweekly.

“What I hope you noticed is how clean the lake really is,” Lackey told event participants of his staff’s efforts.

Lackey blames lake visitors, not a lack of trash cans, for the litter.

“It’s not an issue of not having receptacles. It’s the issue of being lazy,” he said. “We have blue barrels everywhere the eyes see.”

The city is currently looking at more environmentally friendly trash options for the lakefront, such as solar-powered trash compactors and recycling bins.

“It would allow folks to separate their trash from their recyclables,” Lackey said. “Everything we do right now, we’re thinking of reducing our carbon footprint. We want to be a leader in being green.”

As for keeping the lake pristine, Lackey said team-building retreats are available and his staff often schedules cleanups for groups and corporations.

“People like to challenge themselves. We have scales for them to weigh their (trash) collections,” he said.

To inquire about upcoming Lake Tohopekaliga cleanup efforts, contact Kissimmee Parks and Recreation at 407-518-2334.