BY TIA LYONS
STAFF WRITER
A community cleanup will be held April 29 in Ward 3 to honor the late Jimmy Reed and Tony Henry, both of whom formerly held the Ward 3, Position 2, seat on the El Dorado City Council.
The cleanup is set from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. and the community, particularly Ward 3 residents, is encouraged to participate.
Reed and Henry died while in office, Reed in January of 2009 and Henry in September of 2018.
Reed joined the city council to fill an un-expired term in early 2006 and he won a General Election to retain his seat later that year.
He was reelected in 2008.
Following Reed's death, Henry was appointed to the Ward 3, Position 2 seat and he retained the seat during elections in 2010 and 2012.
Henry did not seek a third term, opting instead to announce his candidacy for mayor in the 2014 election.
The mayoral bid was unsuccessful and Henry returned to the Ward 3, Position 2 seat in 2018 after having thrown his hat in the ring for and winning the Preferential Primary Election.
He was to have taken office on Jan. 1, 2019, but the resignation of former Ward 3 Council Member Kensel Spivey-Green placed Henry back into the seat in mid-2018.
Reed and Henry championed the beautification of the city and regularly participated in and helped to organize neighborhood cleanups.
The cleanup is set from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. and the community, particularly Ward 3 residents, is encouraged to participate.
Volunteer teams of 10 or more members will be eligible for a cash incentive from Keep El Dorado Beautiful, which was founded in 2013 upon a charge that was led by Henry.
The incentives will be available to 10 teams.
KEB is reviving its ward cleanup and cash-incentive program, which was introduced in 2018 and 2019 before it was halted by the COVID-pandemic and a lack of funding.
Clean Harbors, who had donated funding for the program in its inaugural years, included money its budget to relaunch the cash incentives this year.
KEB will give youth groups priority for the cash incentives.
Members said they want to assist with activities that are related to membership in church groups, sports teams and youth development and service groups (Camp Fire, girl and boy scouts, The Young Artist Studio, etc.).
Giving youth groups priority also helps KEB to advance its mission of engaging the community in building a sustainable cleanup campaign for the city and expanding its outreach among local youth, KEB members have said.
Chaperones must accompany volunteer cleanup teams that are made up of children.
To sign up a volunteer team or for more information about the Ward 3 cleanup, call Ward 3, Position 1 Council Member Willie McGhee at 870-314-1441 or Ward 3, Position 2 Council Member George Calloway Jr. at 881-1371.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the Ward 3 cleanup may report to one of 10 checkpoints for a briefing and to pick up supplies.
Checkpoints include:
St. James Village Outreach Facility, 1308 E. Hillsboro.
Parking lot of the former Pine Tree Motel, 1501 E. Hillsboro.
Starlight Baptist Church, 1406 Detroit.
Murmil Education Center, 200 Ripley Ave.
Marrable Hill Chapel, 110 E. Chapel.
Mattocks Park, Detroit and East Sharp.
St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 1018 Wilson.
Former South Side Elementary School site, now the El Dorado Fire Department training facility, 1221 S. Jackson.
CARSTAR Laney's Collision Center, 916 E. Hillsboro.
New Bethel Baptist Church, 800 S. Smith.
McGhee said organizers are working arrange lunch for volunteers following the cleanup.