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KKK Wants To 'Adopt-A-Highway' For Litter Removal

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - "Adopt-A-Highway" signs are a common site to drivers across the country.

Approximately 5,000 miles of New York State highway roadsides are adopted. In New York, highways can be adopted by individuals, companies, or organizations (but not political candidates and campaigns). Segments can also be adopted in memory of an individual.

According to the NYC DOT, signs acknowledging the sponsor will be placed on the adopted roadway segment; however, the Adopt-A-Highway Program is not a forum for advertising or public discourse.

In Georgia, a Ku Klux Klan group wants to join the Peach State's "Adopt-A-Highway'' program for litter removal, which could force state officials to make difficult decisions on the application.

State officials could be forced to choose between approving the request, denying it and facing a likely legal fight or ending the state's 23-year-old Adopt-A-Highway program, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The program features road signs for groups who volunteer to help beautify state highways.

At issue is an application filed by International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Union County involving a one-mile stretch of Ga. 515 in the Appalachian Mountains.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is reviewing the request. State officials plan to meet with lawyers from the state Attorney General's Office on Monday to decide how to proceed.

Do you think the KKK should be allowed to adopt a highway? Sound off below.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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