Cleaning up the town Du Quoin seniors pick up the city as part of fall clean-up
A sudden chilly morning wasn't enough to stop the Du Quoin High School Class of 2018 from rolling up its sleeves for a fall clean-up of the city.
Picking up yellowed paper and styrofoam cups from a downtown alley Wednesday morning, Tijana Williams, Sarah Hood and Katie Blazo were among 114 Du Quoin High School seniors participating in the school's semi-annual community clean-up - an effort that netted 130 bags of trash over about three hours, as well as one funky-smelling love seat.
Du Quoin Commissioner Dale Spencer first organized a city-wide clean-up in 2005, but inconsistent participation eventually caused the effort to fall by the wayside. All of that changed, however, when the clean-up became a community-service requirement for students at the high school. Now, students scan the city for trash twice a year - the seniors in the fall, and the juniors in the spring.
Ryan Summers, who teaches government at the high school, coordinates the effort with Spencer.
He says students have been undertaking the work for about two years, and he is hopeful some kids take the experience and expand upon it in their own ways. Spencer, too, says he hopes the students share the experience with others, hopefully leading to more public awareness about the blight of litter.
While the clean-up effort is a requirement - seniors are required to amass 15 community-service hours, while juniors are on the hook for seven - he hopes some students are willing to take the experience a step further.
"I hope some kids volunteer and say, 'I want to help keep this going,'" Summers said.
They had some extra firepower Wednesday morning. State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) was on hand at the high school to wish the students luck before they divided into eight groups to collect trash across the city before gathering just before lunch at Keyes Park to amass their bags.
Bryant commended the students for their efforts, and said Du Quoin, to her knowledge, is the only community in her legislative district that has such a community-service requirement. Bryant said she would use Facebook to promote the students' work and challenge other communities to do the same thing.
"You guys are doing a great thing today," Bryant said. "Thank you for doing it and keeping our communities clean."
Spencer, motivating the crowd of students as the familiar "Grandpa Dale," also wished them luck before they headed out the doors.
"Don't be afraid to get dirty," Spencer said.<object id="Extra Pictures" type="x-im/image" uuid="8ECC08C4-ED2C-4442-AA58-D164C26EF0CB"><links><link rel="self" type="x-im/image" uri="im://image/8ECC08C4-ED2C-4442-AA58-D164C26EF0CB.jpg" uuid="8ECC08C4-ED2C-4442-AA58-D164C26EF0CB"><data><title><![CDATA[