Local volunteers clean up neighborhood at East 14th

TEXARKANA. Ark. — Continuing concerns about COVID-19 didn’t discourage 27 local volunteers from spending their Saturday morning collecting and disposing of dead tree wood, branches, leaves and other debris centered in the East 14th Street area.

With the Sandflat Center serving as the fixed base of operations, this group of concerned citizens, ranging from nine to 75 years old, busied themselves by participating in a major neighborhood clean-up project lead by the local Bridging the Gaps of Arkansas organization.

For more then two hours, this group fanned out from the Sandflat Center to cover an area running north and south from East 16th Street down to East Ninth Street as well west to east from Laurel Street to County Avenue, as they looked for paper, bottles, cans and old discarded furniture, in and effort to improve the neighborhood area’s appearance.

“We try to bring together young people and adult volunteers who would like to work together to help solve community problems,” said Barbara Pitts Riley,the local BTGA’s executive director.

Riley said this year is about the third annual neighborhood clean-up project the organization has lead in some of the city’s more vintage residential areas.

“We have older residents in these areas, who like to walk in the neighborhoods and we want to try to keep these areas looking good,” Riley added. “There is a child daycare center nearby here , and one day I saw the owner taking care of the her property and I thanked her and encouraged her to keep up the good work.”

Riley added that BTGA will try to hold another community clean-up about this time next year.

Those interested in finding out more about BTGA, can call Riley at 903-908-9754 or at 888-978-8441.

Staff photo By Greg Bischof ■ Youth and adult volunteers participate in the third annual Bridging the Gaps of Arkansas Neighborhood Clean-up on Saturday in the 200 block of East 14th Street. The volunteers spent the morning disposing of dead wood, tree limbs and tree branches in an effort to make neighborhoods look better.