By Betsy Finklea
Lakisha Johnson is giving back to the community and honoring her mother at the same time through the Adopt-A-Highway Program.
Lakisha’s mother, Hattie Y. Blackmon, passed away in July 2021. Lakisha wanted to do something to honor her mother so she adopted a highway in her memory. The adopted area is Pearlie Road.
Lakisha said her mother was a clean person who liked to have clean things around her. She said they used to drive down this road which was littered and commented on it.
Lakisha said she wished she had adopted the highway when her mother was alive. Her mother lived not even a mile down the road and would have enjoyed seeing it cleaned up. She has enlisted her brothers and sisters—Tabitha Bethea, Karen Berry, Andre Bethea, and Lasandra Bethea– to help clean the road. Also supporting her efforts is her husband, Willie Jr.
It’s easy to enroll in the program by contacting the South Carolina Department of Transportation. As part of the Adopt-A-Highway program, she must clean the road four times a year. A group can clean it more than four times a year and get in the running to be the county winner. A sign has been placed there saying the road is being cleaned in her mother’s honor. She said it’s that simple.
Lakisha said they have done three cleanups so far.
Lakisha is challenging other residents and other families to Adopt A Highway and keep their roads clean. She says this way people can keep the planet clean and take pride in their community.
Lakisha is a member of Temple of Deliverance Church in Dillon, where Apostle Sandra Manning Evans is pastor.
