When officials from the Mississippi State Extension Service met with the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce to coordinate a cleanup program, it was with the intent to spend a day at Petal River Park beautifying the grounds.
But after some talk, that endeavor was soon expanded to four days throughout February and March, when volunteers will get together to pick up trash at various spots around the Friendly City. The program is coordinated by Jessi James and will be held through the extension service's Inland Cleanup Program, with the help of zoology students from The University of Southern Mississippi.
"The river park was probably not the priority, in terms of needs, because we really had a lot of other areas that (needed attention)," said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. "But then (James) came back with the ideas of different crews coming at different days to clean up several of our other locations that are in need.
"First of all, people refuse to keep their trash in their cars, and it's unimaginable to me - but it is obvious - that people don't respect highways and peoples' property and they throw their trash out. Then they expect somebody else to clean it up. Well, we just don't have the budget in Petal to have road cleanup crews out there on every street every month, so it falls upon volunteers."
The cleanup effort will begin Feb. 26 at Petal River Park, where the zoology group will focus on the entrance to the park, gravel road and the adjacent bridge near the entrance.Volunteers will throw collected trash into Petal Streets and Maintenance barns and dumpsters.
On March 6, the group will head toward Old Corinth Road via Friendly City Park, which is being used for its accessibility to volunteers.
On March 19, the zoology group will concentrate on the Evelyn Gandy Parkway via Dirt Cheap. A registration table will be set up in the Dirt Cheap parking lot for individuals who wish to help. Volunteers will be required to wear high-visibility vests.
The USM ACES group will go back to Petal River Park on March 27, where attention will again be paid to the entrance to the park, gravel road and the bridge. This event is not open to the public.
More information can be found by calling the chamber at (601) 583-3306.
"(James) is the one really getting the volunteers, and I'm helping her out by working with our street department and police department to make sure these volunteers are protected while they're out there on the road, and that they have places to dispose of the trash that they collect," Wilson said. "We'll be partnering together, and I hope that a lot of people will volunteer to go out and help them."
Wilson said a large-scale cleanup effort has been needed for some time in Petal.
"I'm so thankful that this crew has offered to help us, but it's more than that," Wilson said. "Part of their goal is to educate people on appropriate trash pickup manners.
"Hopefully, as a community, we'll come together, and once it's picked up we'll at least attempt to keep it clean."
