Countywide cleanup day is April 12

Joseph Summers, president of Phi Theta Kappa at Co-Lin; Robert McCreary; Ann Berch of Hardy Wilson Memorial Hospital; Wanda Woodard of MDOT; Randall Day of Hazlehurst Chamber of Commere; Mayor Evans and Judy Evans; Edna Moody, president of Keep Copiah County Beautiful; Nora Berch; Kim Palmer; Patrick Morgan; and Sara Kountouris of Keep Mississippi Beautiful.

Keep Copiah County Beautiful held the kickoff for the countywide cleanup last week at the Depot pavilion in Hazlehurst. The countywide cleanup is set for Saturday, April 12.

Participating in the kickoff event were the Hazlehurst ROTC color guard which presented the colors and Patrick Morgan who sang the national anthem.

Special guests included Wanda Woodard, antilitter coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. MDOT provides many of the supplies that are used in the countywide cleanup, such as trash bags. Hardy Wilson Memorial Hospital provides the gloves for the volunteers.

Sara Kountouris of Keep Mississippi Beautiful commended the KCCB volunteers for having a program that really stands out. She credited the KCCB board of directors and group of community volunteers for making the program such a success. She also commended the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Co-Lin for their work in the fight against litter. It takes all these groups working together to make any progress, she told the crowd at the kickoff.

“Volunteerism is the name of the game,” said Kountouris. “I can’t imagine how this would work if garbage was only picked up by cities and counties.”

Mayor Arthur Lee Evans and his wife Judy Evans are the honorary chairpersons for Keep Copiah County Beautiful.

Mrs. Evans said of her husband, “He has always picked up litter. It’s part of his routine.”

Mayor Evans added, “I hope when people see us pick up trash it will be contagious and everyone will start picking up trash. Crime does not like cleanliness.”