Volunteers pick roadside clean

An estimated 50 volunteers went out last Saturday to clean up garbage that accumulates alongside the stretch of U.S. Highway 71 that runs through Bella Vista.

The volunteers worked in an event titled 6 in 60, the whole idea being to clean up six miles of highway in 60 minutes. The event was organized by the Bella Vista residents group, Positively Bella Vista.

Chris Taylor, one of the group’s founders, said that he appreciated the volunteers’ efforts as well as the rain holding off until they were finished, despite some threats earlier that morning.

“It was amazing,” he said. “We cleaned up from all the way at the Missouri border to Walgreens — on both sides.”

This is part of the group’s volunteer patrol, he said, and took nearly two months of organization. Equipment, signs and food were all donated, he said, so volunteers had high visibility vests and reaching tools to pick up trash, as well as a hot meal to look forward to.

This is likely to become an annual event, he said, though next year it might be worth waiting for nicer weather.

Tim Pschierer helped organize the event, though he said it took lots of help from several people to handle all the details for this job.

He wanted to see the highway cleaned, he said, because the garbage that appears alongside it distracts from the area’s beauty. As a resident, he said, he wants the town to look nice. Moreover, he said, it’s important to make a good impression on visitors, especially because Bella Vista will be the first part of Arkansas many travelers see.

“I always feel guilty if I walk past a piece of trash and don’t pick it up,” he said.

He appreciated help, he said, from Mayor Peter Christie as well as the Bella Vista Police Department. Several patrol vehicles, he said, kept an eye out and helped keep volunteers safe.

One volunteer, Gary Griffin, said he had a good time and was glad to pitch in on this effort. It was a good chance to get to know other Bella Vistans, he said, and help build the community. He also appreciated the encouragement from passing motorists, he said, who often honked.

“For as much as you could get done in one hour, I think we did good,” he said. “I had an opportunity to do something most people wouldn’t do; it’s one of the many things that makes Bella Vista great.”

“I always feel guilty if I walk past a piece of trash and don’t pick it up." Tim Pschierer Organizer

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Karen Schmelter (left) stands by as fellow volunteer Janice Renick shows off a license plate she picked up alongside U.S. Highway 71. That plate, Renick said, is only one of the strange things she discovered alongside the road.