EATON — Preble County Community Outreach held their Earth Day Initiative on Saturday, April 22, to clean and beautify the parks around Eaton.
Community volunteers came together to clean Clarence Hook Memorial Park, Seven Mile Park, the A.S.K. Playground, Water Works Park, Fort St. Clair, Crystal Lake, and Roberts Bridge. Following the clean up, free lunch was provided at the Preble County Fairgrounds.
All interested volunteers met at Eaton High School to register. A prayer circle was held and then City of Eaton Sargent Eric Beeghly spoke about safety.
He said, “You never know what you can find in a park or any public space. So if you find a syringe, do not touch it, call the police and we will come out with a container. Never ever recap a syringe, just call us. If you come across something that could be drugs, give us a call we will also come get it. A lot of these drugs can be absorbed through the skin.
“On a different note, if you see a bottle of Pepsi but it looks like Mountain Dew is in it, that’s probably body fluids. Just leave that alone and we can have the city guys come get it on Monday. Let us know the area so we can pick that up.
“Most important is your safety, please don’t touch anything you think could be suspicious or dangerous, we can take care of it.”
After that, volunteers broke out into groups to cover the various parks in the community. There were various projects the the city wanted completed, including painting the gazebo at WaterWorks Park and planting flowers by Crystal Lake. Kroger employees planted a tree in memory of a deceased coworker.
During lunch, Mayor Dave Kirsch gave a speech.
Committee members included: Carla Barnett, Terri Reiff, Dave Reiff, Donna Horn, and Robin Eck.
The idea for Earth Day Initiative came from Eck, who saw that the City of Dayton does something similar with their parks.
Volunteer groups included the women of Sojourner, We Are The Majority, City of Eaton employees, Recovery & Wellness Center, and community members.
Sponsors included Preble County Community Outreach donations, Kroger, Walmart, Boxcar Bakery, Eaton United Church of Christ, Brubaker Grain, Preble County Fairgrounds, TSC, McDonald’s, and Crystal Creek Gardens.
