SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — Some Sevier County police and deputies will take a break from fighting crime next month to fight litter with the help of the community.
Officers with the Sevierville Police Department, Pigeon Forge Police Department, Gatlinburg Police Department and the Sevier County Sheriff's Office will be holding a friendly competition to see which department can remove the most litter from the county.
The departments are working with Keep Sevier Beautiful on May 7 to organize one of the largest yearly cleanup events in the area: The Battle of the Litter. They will gather at specific locations and are inviting people in the community to come out and help their teams that day from 9 a.m. to noon.
The cleanup event will cover nine locations spread throughout Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. If you'd like to participate and help one of the teams, you can check-in at the following locations that morning:
- Sevierville PD and Seiver Co. Sheriff's Office: Sevierville Primary School (1146 Blanton Drive)
- Pigeon Forge PD: Pigeon Forge Community Center (170 Community Center Drive)
- Gatlinburg PD: Welcome Center on the Spur (1011 Banner Road)
- Any Department: 4-H Office (752 Old Knoxville Highway in Sevierville), Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge (1425 Old Knoxville Highway in Sevierville), Valley View Baptist Church (2219 Little Cove Road in Wears Valley)
In 2021, the event led to more than 200 bags of litter being removed from the roadways and waterways. This year, Keep Sevier Beautiful said it is hoping to raise that number to 300.