Fort Simpson (Sep 29/06) - There are people missing some strange items in Fort Simpson.

On Sept. 23, community volunteers and members of the Fort Simpson Guides and Spark groups met at Heritage Park to take part in the TD Canada Trust Great Shoreline Cleanup. While picking up garbage around the beach and along the shoreline as far as the health centre, some unusual items were found.

Among the finds were the bottom half of a golf putter, a broken wooden paddle, a grill stand for a campfire, a fishing rod, a hair brush and a large roll of carpet, said Heather Passmore, who helped with the cleanup.

There must also be people wandering around without some pieces of clothing. The 15 volunteers found a number of pairs of jeans and socks, as well as two sandals from two different pairs.

The most disappointing garbage was the amount of broken glass found around the beach area where a lot of children walk in bare feet, Passmore said.

As part of the cleanup, each participant filled out a data sheet logging the different types and amounts of garbage they found. The information will be sent to the Vancouver Aquarium which started the annual cleanup 12 years ago. The information establishes areas of concern in Canada and determines where preventable garbage comes from.

Despite the unglamorous nature of cleaning up garbage, the volunteers got into the swing of things while enjoying the beautiful weather.

"People were having a good time," said Passmore.

After the cleanup the volunteers gathered back at the Heritage Park for snacks and drinks provided by the Deh Cho Friendship Centre.

The cleanup in Fort Simpson was organized by Martina Norwegian.

After reading about the Canada-wide cleanup in a newspaper, Norwegian went online to find more information. She linked forces with Passmore who was organizing a similar event with the Guides and Sparks.

Norwegian said she decided that because communities across Canada were taking part in the event, there was no reason Fort Simpson couldn't.

"I think we have to do our part as part of Canada," she said.

People forget that we live alongside one of the greatest rivers in the country, said Norwegian.

Picking up litter is part of Norwegian's regular routine. She gathers garbage while taking her dog for walks.

Despite the hard work of all the volunteers, there is still a lot of garbage along the shoreline, said Norwegian. She hopes to make the cleanup and annual summer event.

The shoreline might get an extra cleanup this week. For the past four years, Thomas Simpson school teacher Jeff Cressman has taken the junior high students for a sweep along the shoreline. On Sept. 25, he was still working to set a date for this year's sweep.