Future uncertain for clean-up day

Krissy Hinkhouse, who has taken on much of the event planning after the resignation of long time Moorcroft Area Chamber of Commerce (MACC) volunteer Elaine Buckmiller, spoke to Moorcroft's council last week, sharing the decision to discontinue the long held Spring Cleanup Day "due to a lack of a dump."

The aforementioned lack of a landfill, though, was set aside as the conversation turned to last year's unsuccessful event. At that time, the town's public works had to pick up the streetside debris due to a lack of volunteers.

Looking back, Public Works Director Cory Allison considered the situation, "The school didn't give us hardly any kids, it ruined the whole thing. We didn't have all those kids loading that stuff up right away."

Hinkhouse agreed, "We had so many issues with the school last year, there were some parents who pulled their kids out and there were some school organizations that pulled their kids out for community service, but as for the school as a whole, it was a big no-go."

This seemed the overriding opinion; however, Moorcroft's secondary school Principal Nick Redden and Vice Principal Sherry Ewing, upon hearing about the abandonment of the event in the face of a lack of volunteers, chose to explain their reasoning at the time and offer help.

Two issues prevented Redden from allowing the teenagers for whom he is responsible to join the clean-up as they have in the past.

"Last year, when I sat down with Elaine Buckmiller and Jerry Fischbach, they showed me the map and the three points of safety that worried me were walking the road ditches out past the baseball fields, the road ditches north of town on the Hulett road [Highway 14]," he said.

"Even though it's 45 mph coming through there, it still scares me, and then doing things up near the off ramps and on ramps."

The other concern expressed by the school authorities was the weather, Redden said.

"I asked for a Plan B. I don't want to take this away, [but] we need a Plan B because the weather is supposed to get poor and I can't send 250 kids out, have them come back sopping wet – just the health of the kids, we know not every kid is going to come with rain gear and also when they come back, the school is going to be a mess," he said.

"I was thinking of the janitorial and the kids – those types of things when I made that decision. That's why I asked for a Plan B, when else could we do this? I know that she already had people set up. In schools, we have to have Plan Bs, things don't always work out."

The principal asked FFA leader Hugh Jenkins for assistance when the chamber called, "That morning, they called me and asked, can we use your FFA kids? Not a problem because they needed help picking stuff up. We grabbed our FFA kids, we had it set up in about ten minutes. Those FFA kids went out and rode, packed things up and we got a 'Thank You' for sending those kids out. When they did need help, we gladly reached out for volunteers."

MACC volunteer Neil Gray then voiced another problem the MACC is facing with this cleanup day, "The main thing we're short is somebody to head the thing up. Everybody in the chamber who is a regular member and a good volunteer is busy with the Jubilee and the other activities and nobody's willing to step up and just take that bull by the horns."

Hinkhouse added that the organization simply does not have the manpower to take this event on this year, saying, "If the city itself would like to do it, we would be more than happy to supply volunteers and help with advertising, but that's not a responsibility the chamber can take on anymore."

As May gets closer, both Redden and Ewing adamantly advocate their willingness to visit with chamber representatives or the town in an effort to come to an agreement for ensuring the welfare of the young people if MACC or the town want to continue the Spring Cleanup Day this year.

Ewing expressed her appreciation if those who pick up this important event will make the school authorities part of the planning process with an added provision, "It would be great to have a make-up date in case."

The vice principal stated, "We want the community to look great, too. We want the garbage picked up as much as anybody else [and] we certainly understand that without the kids they cannot continue, but if they had another date scheduled in case of inclement weather... you can't have all those kids running around in the rain and snow."

Redden supports the cleanup day, "I think it's a great thing! don't think the kids do enough community service. I'm all about helping you out here, it's good for you, me and the school. This school is fully open to working with the community to make this a better place."