Scouts visit Spring Creek
By Terry Toole

Boy Scout of America Troop 222 of Covington is welcomed by Sheriff H.E. "Buddy" Glass and Debbie Henry, Soil Conservationist, to Spring Creek Park for a camp and boat trip on the creek.

"If you want rain, just invite us down, and you have a great chance of getting it," said one of the leaders of Boy Scouts of America Troop 222.

A great group of Scouts enjoyed some of their stay in Colquitt and camping out in Spring Creek Park a couple of weeks ago.

The scout group and their leaders checked into a camping area at Spring Creek Park and set up their tents on Saturday, March 31. The scouts and their leaders brought two trailer loads of canoes to float Spring Creek, and float and forge logs they did.

Scout leaders, assistant leaders, and especially those with strong arms, were needed to cross, pull around and forge some of the large trees and debris that is now in Spring Creek caused by the tornadoes and storms, which put the large trees and trash back into the run of the creek.

The Scouts and their leaders stated that there were some areas that were almost impassable due to the trees in and across the creek.

The county and state officials explained that the county had started trying to clean some of the trees and debris out, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife stopped the cleanup, and the county was fined by the Department of Natural Resources for removing the debris and trees and trash. They stated that after the county puts the trees back into the creek, this will possibly stop any type of restoration of the creek by the county.

The Scout leaders who had been on trips down Spring Creek after the restoration project was done a few years ago praised the county for their work on trying to restore the stream and make it where nature could help clean it up.

They were told that it seemed that snails were more important than the restoration project or people who might enjoy the waterway.

The scouts and their leaders were invited back to the park at anytime. In fact, some of the local farmers were ready for them to come back at any time since it hadn't rained too much since they left.

Spring Creek was once one of the most pristine waterways in the state and did not depend on rainwater to keep the stream running. It was supplied with hundreds of springs that kept the water clean and clear. These springs have been covered by tons of soil and sand that washed into the creek basin, making it a wet weather stream when the rains do not furnish enough water to keep the stream running.

Without proper restoration, the only stream left in this county will dry up just as the others did in past years.

Spring Creek has dried up several times in the past few years.