These kids really cleaned up
More than 250 Polson students fill trash bags in CleanUp GreenUp
POLSON – Polson Middle School student Feather Gipe understands the purpose of CleanUp GreenUp Day.
“There’s a lot of trash and trash isn’t supposed to be in Polson,” said Gipe, who looks ironically like Pocahontas with eyeglasses. “Polson is supposed to be green. It’s not supposed to be dirty.”
Gipe and fellow students in Matt Dalbey’s seventh grade social studies class were busy scouring the drainage ditch east of the campus May 2, fighting through the cat tails to collect the offensive quarry.
The volunteer group called the Beautification Committee of Envision Polson organized the annual event, said chair Mary Jensen.
About 250 students from Polson schools and some adults scattered throughout the city in designated areas with one goal in mind: Fill trash bags.
“Each year, for many years, we have come together with other members of our community, along with businesses, to support the beautification of Polson during the spring,” Jensen said. “This year we decided to ask the Polson Public Schools to participate in this event. They came out strong and very enthusiastic.”
Each school’s students conducted their own clean up while informing the committee of the areas of town they would “spruce up,” Jensen said.
“They all did a fabulous job and we look forward to having them participate again next year,” she said.
Many groups, clubs and interested community members participated on their own this spring to collect trash that accumulated during the winter, she said.
Some other groups involved were: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and the Masumola Club, that helped clean up the Rocky Point Road, which is several miles long, Jensen said.
Jensen thanks sponsors and supporters: Beacon Tire, the city of Polson, Allied Waste, the Showboat Movie Theatre and volunteers who donated gloves, garbage bags, coffee and cookies.
At the end of the project, volunteers and committee members met at the Glacier Brewery for a wrap-up gathering.