August 25, 2025

By Laurie Thomas Vass

Sea Trail Fishing Club Member Helps New River Wildlife & Conservation Club, of Fries, Virginia, with Hurricane Helene River Cleanup

The New River Wildlife & Conservation Club, of Fries, Virginia, dedicated the month of August 2025 as Hurricane Helene River Cleanup month.

Forty citizen volunteers showed up on August 23, 2025, and worked in 6 teams to scour the river  for debris.

Each team pulled a flat bottom boat upstream, with the workers wading in the knee deep waters.

They pulled out over 100 tires and several tons of debris.

Laurie Thomas Vass, a member of the Sea Trail Fishing Club went to Fries to volunteer to help clean the river.

“I fish in the New River and love that mountain community,” said Vass. “Their little towns, like Fries and Mouth of Wilson were devastated by the storm and I wanted to do something to help them.”

I won the prize for finding the proverbial kitchen sink,” she said.

“We found tires, appliances and roof tops, said Vass, “including a fully functional porcelain toilet.”

“The force of the water flushed a lot of things down the river,” she noted dryly.

Keith Andrews, the President of the New River Wildlife & Conservation Club, expressed his appreciation to all the volunteers and noted that the club hopes to conduct a river cleanup, every August.

“I invite all the members of the Sea Trail Fishing Club to come up here next year, and camp in our 32 acre club park, next to the river, and help us recover from the hurricane,” he said.

About New River Wildlife & Conservation Club, Inc. The club is a 501c 3 that offers education programs including fly-fishing clinics, hunter education courses, field-to-table workshops, mountain crafts workshops, nature walks, kayaking lessons, river water chemical testing, and floats throughout the year. The club has been holding annual river cleanups since 2021. Located in Grayson County at 7107 Riverside Dr. Fries, Va. 24330.