"I've been organizing this cleanup for probably 30 years now, a long time," said Paula Rak. "I just do it because I just want the city to look nice for everybody."
Rak, with the help of the Wrangell Cooperative Association's IGAP department, has organized the event to help keep Wrangell beautiful. Rak said that she and her husband adopted about two miles of highway near their home, where they regularly pick up trash left on the side of the street. Trash downtown, and along other roads, does not get picked up and properly thrown away very often, she said. The Clean Up event is a way for people to keep Wrangell a nice place for both residents and tourists who visit over the summer. Rak said that she has not kept track of how many garbage bags of trash people collect, but it has always been a surprising amount every year.
"We've had several dumpsters full," Rak said. "It's pretty sad that there has to be that much. Some people are just slobs, they don't want to spend the money or take the time to take stuff out to the dump so they just leave it alongside the road, and we all have to suffer for it."
The Community Clean-Up will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sat., April 13. Participants are asked to gather at Evergreen Elementary School, where gloves and trash bags will be passed out. People are invited to stick around for coffee and snacks, then everyone will disperse throughout town, picking up trash wherever they find it. Rak said that the outdoor gun range, the airport loop road, areas around the schools, and the staircase from Front Street to Church Street could all use extra attention. Flyers for the event say the clean-up will close at 12:30 p.m., though Rak said that most people are typically done working around 11 a.m. Every trash bag brought back to the school will give the participant who turns it in one ticket for a drawing at the end of the clean-up. Rak said that she has $350 in $5 bills she will be giving out. Every time a name is drawn at the end of the day, that person wins $5. Lunch will be provided after the clean-up, as well.
"We've had probably 100 people show up, it's a pretty good turnout," Rak said. "It's been pretty consistent."
To learn more about the clean-up, or to volunteer or make a donation, Rak can be contacted at (907) 874-3824.
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