Keep El Dorado Beautiful has worked with El Dorado City Council members to coordinate two ward cleanups this year and the effort has been placed on hiatus until the fall.
KEB and the city council are two cleanups in to a campaign that was rebooted earlier this year. The program calls for a community cleanup to be held in each of the city's four wards throughout the year.
City council members organize the cleanups in their respective wards and they team up with KEB to provide cash incentives for volunteer teams and sack lunches for volunteers on the day of the cleanups.
The program was launched in 2018 with a donation by Clean Harbors to fund $300 cash incentives for 10 cleanup teams with at least 10 members and who meet other criteria in order to encourage and boost participation from the community.
Initially, the aim of the program was to host one community cleanup per quarter in a designated ward.
The campaign went as planned in 2018 and 2019.
In late 2019, Dan Roblee -- KEB member and general manager of Clean Harbors -- told KEB members that the company would not be able to fund the program in its budget for the next fiscal year.
As KEB members began looking into other potential funding sources to continue the incentive program in 2020, COVID-19 struck and slowed activity for the group, who canceled the ward cleanups for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Talk of reviving the ward cleanups began to stir last year and in February, KEB agreed to poll city officials to see if they would be on board with a reboot.
KEB also learned that Clean Harbors would renew its commitment to fund the cash incentives this year.
The program was rebooted this year with some changes.
Instead of spreading the ward cleanups across each quarter, KEB members agreed to work with city council members to plan two cleanups in the spring and two in the fall.
With the re-launch, KEB members opted to amend the schedule and plan the cleanups when outdoor temperatures tend to be cooler.
Additionally, KEB turned its focus on youth groups to engage them in an overall effort to build a sustainable cleanup campaign for the city.
Youth volunteer groups are given priority for the cash incentives, which, KEB members said, the groups may use to assist with expenses that are related to membership in church groups, sports teams and youth development and service groups, etc.
Pop-up have also been added to KEB's repertoire to fill in between ward cleanups.
Volunteer groups with at least 10 members are invited to schedule a pop-up cleanup and receive a cash incentive.
Ward 3 hosted the first ward cleanup of the year in late April. The cleanup was held in honor of late Ward 3 council members Jimmy Reed and Tony Henry.
The city's third ward is represented by council members Willie McGhee, Position 1, and George Calloway Jr., Position 2, both of whom worked with a committee and KEB to schedule the event.
Janis Van Hook, president of KEB, reported that the cleanup was a success and that six volunteer teams participated.
Van Hook noted that two other teams pulled out of the event due to unforeseen circumstances.
One of the teams, the Four-Leaf Clover 4-H Club at Hugh Goodwin Elementary School, participated in the next cleanup, which was held in Ward 1 on May 13.
Other groups who took part in the Ward 1 cleanup included the Jr. Elks, Herd #473, the Washington Middle School archery team and more.
"The did a lot of streets. They did a lot of pickup," Van Hook said during a regular KEB meeting on May 15.
Van Hook thanked J.J. Cook, KEB member and general manager of Noalmark Broadcasting, for grilling hot dogs for the sack lunches during the ward cleanups and community volunteers and KEB members Cory Williams and Brian Terry "Wildcat" Welch for setting up during the Mayhaw Festival.
KEB made an appearance at the 31st annual festival on May 6 as part of an ongoing effort to spread awareness about the non-profit organization and its mission to engage more people to participate.
KEB also set up a booth during the 2022 Mayhaw Festival and riding off the success of last year's appearance, the group agreed to participate again this year.
"It went good. It was a sight to see, all the vendors ... We had a lot of people volunteer to adopt streets and we gave out lots of supplies," KEB member Valarie Smith reported, referring to pencils, stickers, children's activity books, litter bags, etc., to those who stopped by the booth.
Van Hook, who was unable to attend the Mayhaw Festival this year, thanked KEB members who manned the KEB booth.
The group will also take part in the 2023 SouthArk Outdoor Expo, which is set for Sept. 9.
Top in the state
KEB members also recently learned that El Dorado is one of the top Keep Arkansas Beautiful affiliates in the state.
Van Hook said she and other members chatted with Colbie Jones, director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful, last month during the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.
"She told us that we do an exceptional job and she said not a lot of people are aware that KEB is certified by the state and (Keep America Beautiful)," Van Hook said.
Jones advised KEB to focus more on the recycling component of its three-part mission, which also includes litter and beautification, Van Hook said.
Members noted that the city has a recycling program in which residents may drop off recyclable materials -- newspaper/magazine print, cardboard, plastics, E-waste and more -- at the recycling plant at 1600 S. Jackson Ave. or a drive-thru service at the intersection of Cordell Avenue and Liberty Street (behind Barton Junior High School).
The city scrapped its curbside recycling program several years to as a cost-cutting measure.
Otto
Van Hook announced that KEB has booked Otto the Otter, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful mascot, to make an appearance during the SouthArk Outdoor Expo and the El Dorado Christmas Parade on Dec. 7.
The group has worked for the past few years to book Otto for appearances as a part of its outreach program into local schools.
Van Hook said Keep Arkansas Beautiful officials would like Otto to visit schools and students while in town, adding that the visits will likely be scheduled on the day of the Christmas parade.
Signs and banners
The group also discussed purchasing more signs for its Adopt-A-Street program, in which local groups or individuals adopt city streets to clean regularly.
KEB works with the city to make roadside signs denoting the adopters.
KEB member and El Dorado City Council Member Dianne Hammond said seven signs are left and six have already been claimed.
She noted potential sponsors who may commit to paying for the new signs and said she will return next month with a report on the effort.
KEB thanked Cook and Noalmark for donating two banners featuring KEB's logo.
The group voted to place the banners in city parks to encourage visitors to keep the parks clean and agreed to work with Cook purchase 10 additional signs.
KEB member Anjanett Walker-Kemp, who was recently appointed to the El Dorado Parks and Playgrounds Commission, agreed to scout out suitable locations to hang the signs in each park.
For more information about KEB, call Van Hook at 870-918-2706 or Hammond at 870-866-0111.