Community-serving Bendites clean up trash along China Hat Road area south of Bend, find a surprise

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Joseph Myers says he and his wife, Jackie Smit, have been serving the Central Oregon community in various ways over the past seven years.

Myers and three others got together Saturday and picked up up 2,100 pounds of garbage in four hours near China Hat Road. While they expected most of what they'd find to have been from the area's homeless camps, the trash evidence made clear much of it was disposed of by residents in town.

They plan to continue cleanups with a group called Public Land Stewards.

Myers is also an outreach coordinator for a local Bend non-profit, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, that builds beds for less fortunate families.

Smit brings in about 1,500 pounds of food a week to Bethlehem Inn through her food charity.