Ventura County agencies, students team up to clear trash from Ojai river bottom

OJAI, Calif. - Several Ventura County agencies teamed up with volunteers and students on Friday to clean out trash from the river bottom under Old Baldwin Road bridge in Ojai.

Responding departments included deputies from the VC Sheriff's station in Ojai Valley, Ojai Land Conservancy, Caltrans, the Water Shed District, Ventura Water, Ojai Search and Rescue, County Supervisor Matt LaVere and his staff as well as a group of students with chaperones from Oak Grove School.

The VC Sheriff's Office said there was a significant amount of trash spread out under the bridge that, had it been left alone, would likely have ended up on local beaches after the next heavy rain.

Thanks to all the helping hands that showed up, crews said the cleanup was finished in a few hours.

The sheriff's office gave a special thanks for help from the students and their parents as well as E.J. Harrison & Sons who provided a large roll-away dumpster and carted off the trash that they collected.