BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD-KERMIT — Friends of the Tug Fork River and volunteers pulled 640 tires from the Tug River within a 75-yard stretch that started at the Warfield boat dock Monday.

Kermit and Warfield fire departments, city workers, Martin County Code Enforcement Officer Paul McCoy and his jail workers, and several citizens joined the Williamson-based Friends of the Tug Fork River group to help remove the tires from the river between Warfield and Kermit.

“It’s great seeing the community come together for this much-needed river cleanup,” local photographer and river enthusiast Andrew Gess said.

Friends of the Tug Fork River employed a Hydratreck amphibious vehicle to dig the tires from the bottom of the river. Some of the tires had been lodged there for decades, as evidenced by the white-wall styles of the 1940s and 50s.

Gopher Land Services, out of Beaver, W.Va., hauled the tires from the riverbank to a trailer parked across Route 292.

Several trailer loads were removed before lunch — and the goal was to reach Kermit Bridge by Tuesday.

“The tires were bank to bank from the train bridge up,” said Gess.

Day 2 of the “Tire Tug of War,” initially scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed due to the weather.

The event will resume Sept. 6 at 9 a.m.

The work is difficult and time-consuming, but organizers hope more groups and residents will pitch in and help rid the river of its two-state problem.