Gene Lane adds an auto wheel to a stack of miscellaneous trash below Massengill Bridge during the 2014 Big Clinch River Cleanup. Image by Wayne Nobles

Enjoy breakfast at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 25 at the Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Highway, Norris then help with the third annual Big Clinch River Cleanup. A briefing will take place at the Museum right after breakfast for registered volunteers. The cleanup will wrap up about 2 p.m.

Everyone who enjoys the river, from anglers to kayakers to wildlife watchers, is invited to help remove litter from the Clinch and its banks. The community wide cleanup is an expansion of annual pickups run for many years by members of the Clinch River Chapter, Trout Unlimited. Last year, 105 volunteers and 28 boats marshaled by the chapter were deployed to gather tires and trash from the river.

This year, the first 125 volunteers to register will qualify for the free full breakfast -- to sign up, please visit crctu.org and click on Big Cleanup Registration. The event will be held rain or shine (in case of severe weather, the breakfast will be held but volunteers will stay on shore).

Clinch River Chapter TU works to preserve and protect the Clinch River tailwater and its watershed through conservation projects and through education of children and adults in aquatic natural resources. Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month in the parish hall at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Norris, except when outdoor activities are scheduled.