ARTICLE TOOLS

E-mail story

Comments

Printer friendly version

iPod friendly version

Share This

Text Size: A A A A

Cleveland: Volunteers clean up

By: Randall Higgins
(Contact)

Included in this article

Brion Eidson

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Willing hands went to work on a recent morning hauling decades of accumulated trash and debris from a dilapidated house for disposal.

Men from Westwood Baptist Church’s Service Corps began working about daylight, hoping to be done before the heat of the day caught them. The house was at the end of a gravel driveway hidden from the rest of the neighborhood off South Lee Highway by dense trees.

Complaints about the smell and the trash brought codes officer Criss Caywood to the property several weeks ago.

The patched house now wears condemnation signs on its outer walls declaring it “unfit for human occupation.” The owner sleeps in a small tent beside the structure.

“I could never have done this myself,” the occupant said as he sat on a back step and watched the volunteers scoop shovelfuls of trash from what was once a garage.

Community service by church groups is a tradition here. But the Service Corps and other church groups are taking part in a new Coalition for Community Improvement that includes schools, Lee University, local government and concerned individuals.

The coalition’s aim is to match volunteer groups with people who, for health, financial or other reasons, need help to get their homes or property in order.

The coalition is seeking volunteers for an ambitious streetside trash cleanup along Eighth Street NE toward Benton Pike.

“It definitely needs cleaning up,” said Keep America Beautiful Director Joanne Maskew.

If enough people volunteer for the Sept. 20 event, some side streets off Eighth also may get some attention.

“We would also like to see some residents come out there and help their neighborhood, too,” city codes officer Joel Prince said.

That happened at an earlier street cleanup, Ms. Maskew said. People saw high school and college-age youths picking up trash and old tires, so they started pitching in, too.

People in the city and county have talked about this kind of coordination for many months. The coalition came together when Ms. Maskew invited interested groups to meet.

The goal is to keep an updated list of people who can volunteer labor or equipment, like trucks or backhoes. Then the coalition matches people with projects as they become known.

The most recent effort began when Mr. Caywood reported the dilapidated house he visited to the coalition committee.

Byron Eidson, a committee member who also is director of senior adults and director of the Service Corps at his church, volunteered his group to help.

As the men hauled load after load of trash to a city public works trailer in the drive, Mr. Eidson pointed to progress already made.

“This was piled up chest high when we started,” he said of the debris.

When the work was done, the trailer was stacked high with old furniture, broken glass, soured mattresses and trash. A city crew was scheduled to pick up the trailer and haul it to a landfill.

The cleanup was nothing new to the group members. They spent time on the Mississippi coast doing the same after Hurricane Katrina.

“This came up through that committee,” Mr. Eidson said. “It’s a mission right here at home. But it’s not a one-church situation. There are many people who want to help.”

Comments