Millions of man hours are devoted each year to the meticulous care of private property by hundreds of landscape workers in the Wood River Valley.
Tomorrow, May 10, is a chance for residents who care so much about the beauty of property and their surroundings to give a few hours of their personal time to cleaning up public streets and alleys that thoughtless litterbugs have blemished with trash that contradicts the pride our communities otherwise feel about themselves.
The Environmental Resources Center, along with business sponsors, is asking for volunteers to join in Operation Clean Sweep to do the dirty business of picking up after others.
As grandmothers of a few generations ago would say about children soiling their clothes while frolicking in dirt, "A little clean dirt never hurt anybody."
In fact, volunteers getting their hands dirty during Clean Sweep will find it's good for the soul as well as for the appearance of their town.
Volunteers can register at 9 a.m. today in Ketchum, at Atkinson Park; in Hailey, at Hop Porter Park, and in Bellevue at the city park, and then be on their way. Registering is not required. Take a walk and along the way pick up litter.
This annual outing is a splendid way to enjoy the first days of spring-like weather, to meet new friends, to feel the pride in showing our community's spirit for volunteerism, catch some exercise in the fresh air and remove blight from public thoroughfares that reflects poorly on the Wood River Valley.
