Lafayette a good spring-clean
<<printed from the Lafayette Journal and Courier>>
Saturday was a day for volunteerism.
An estimated 350 people picked up litter and other trash Saturday morning and afternoon as part of the eighth annual Detrash the Wabash effort.
In the afternoon, about 1,200 Purdue University students volunteered with Boiler Blast. They fanned out to 86 locations, including neighborhoods and non-profit agencies.
Girl Scout mom Deb Pullen and her daughter, Riley, were part of Troop 5150 from Edgelea/Miller elementary schools. “I think this is good to help teach the girls to be responsible,” Pullen said about Detrash the Wabash. Riley smiled at her mom’s comment. “I want to pick up the community and make it a better place,” said Riley, 10, an Edgelea fourth-grader.
Detrash the Wabash volunteers met in the morning at Tapawingo Park in West Lafayette to get trash bags, T-shirts, breakfast and assignments.
Students from the Purdue Botany Club targeted Mascouten Park on North River Road in West Lafayette. “This is our fourth year doing this,” club officer Bradley Showalter said. “Our club is big into volunteering.” Fellow Purdue senior Jennifer Ransberger said she had a simple motivation: “We want to help the environment and the community.”
The volunteers cleaned parks along the Wabash River, including Tapawingo, Shamrock, Mascouten and Lyboult parks, and Lafayette Golf Course in McAllister Park. Participants also cleaned parts of the Wabash Heritage Trail. Other areas included parking lots at Wabash Landing and Levee Plaza.
West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis wore his boots as he volunteered at Detrash the Wabash. “This event draws attention to one of our beautiful waterways,” he said of the Tapawingo Park area. “For some of the volunteers, this is the first time they’ve been here.”
About a dozen groups organized Detrash the Wabash, including Banks of the Wabash and Wabash Riverkeeper. The local parks departments assisted the cleanup effort.
About noon, an estimated 150 Boiler Blast volunteers joined the Detrash the Wabash volunteers. Other Boiler Blast volunteers went to neighborhoods to do yardwork and household chores for mostly senior citizens. For nearly three hours, the students raked leaves, cleaned gutters, cleaned windows and picked up winter debris. “This is important for Purdue students to do,” said Purdue senior Kaitlyn Salpietro, the Boiler Blast president. “The neighborhoods have been very supportive, so it is good to say thank you.”
Doctoral student Sultan Ahmed of India and Aurangzeb Aurangzeb of Pakistan helped at the Food Finders Food Bank warehouse in Lafayette. They sorted canned goods and stocked distribution boxes. “It is a time to pay back the community,” Aurangzeb said. “It’s also my religion’s obligation to help others. Ahmed said volunteering was the right thing to do. “This is my first time doing this,” he said of Boiler Blast. “I need to know the community in which I live and share experience with the people.”
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