100 volunteers clean alongside interstate

BELLA VISTA — While morning traffic zoomed past March 20, people of all ages picked through the grass and bagged the trash.

Approximately 100 individuals volunteered to clean up trash alongside Bella Vista Way — also known as U.S. 71 — during last Saturday’s Six in Sixty highway cleanup, aiming to clear garbage alongside the roughly 6 miles of interstate that run through Bella Vista.

Chris Taylor, who runs the Facebook-based Positively Bella Vista volunteer group, helped organize the event.

“It’s nice; this is our third year,” he said.

It was a fun event to organize and the turnout was satisfactory, he said.

Further, he said, something like this that can bring people together with a common goal might be exactly what Bella Vista needs after residents spent so much time indoors between the covid-19 pandemic and recent harsh weather.

“They been cooped up too long,” he said.

One volunteer, Scott Schooler, manned the grills to prepare brats and hotdogs for everyone who was out gathering garbage.

Schooler said he owns a portable grill that he often uses to feed volunteers and emergency workers.

“This is all I do with this big smoker is stuff like this,” he said. “Love it!”

As volunteers returned, Tim Pschierer, another event organizer, said he was pleased with how the cleanup played out.

While the event was axed last year because of covid-19 concerns, Pschierer said he thinks these cleanups are getting better every year.

“People are coming back; they’re all happy. They did something good,” he said.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Keith Bryant) Bella Vista residents John and Chris Rice load up garbage March 20 during the Six in Sixty highway cleanup. Chris Rice said they’re retired and wanted to give back to their community. “We love it here, so we want to keep it good,” she said.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Keith Bryant) Volunteers grab brats and hotdogs, provided by Allen’s grocery store after working alongside Bella Vista Way.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Keith Bryant) A few bags of trash and larger items are left alongside the roadway for state Transportation Department crews to pick up after the highway cleanup.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Keith Bryant) Volunteers line up and sign up during the highway cleanup. The event drew approximately 100 volunteers who worked to clean up trash alongside the roadway.

Volunteers pick up garbage alongside Bella Vista Way — or U.S. 71 — during March 20’s Six in Sixty highway cleanup event. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Keith Bryant)