The following is an article that appeared in the Waldron News April 2005. As this website progresses, return to view photos of projects and participants.

The photos appearing below did not appear in the newspaper article. My thanks to Melinda Cooper, Waldron News for the picture of the "Free Lunch", and to Al Brooks, SCOPE member for the great "Main Street Banner" pic!

Recycling Works!

On Earth Day, Friday, April 22nd, Waldron will celebrate its expanded recycling opportunities with a grand scale event downtown. We will now be able to take paper, including opened junk mail and catalogs, plastic bottles, and tin cans to the big blue bins at the transfer station to be recycled. This is in addition to items currently being accepted: corrugated cardboard, aluminum cans, tires, scrap metal, and household hazardous waste.

Hundreds of individuals have contributed to make this Earth Day Event a day to remember. The many facets of this celebration include:

The Essays

Middle school fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students have researched recycling and written thoughtful, persuasive essays on why we in Scott County should make use of our available recycling service. These essays are being judged by members of the retired teachers association and the winners will be awarded a cash prize partially funded by a donation from Rice Furniture & Appliance. Watch for these essays to appear in store front windows downtown.

The Banners

Susan Erke´s seventh and eighth grade art students, under the guidance of artist in residence Alice Guffey Miller, have drawn bright bold flowers on recycled pillow cases which were donated by Mercy Hospital of Scott County and their linen service, Superior Linen, as well as the Mena Medical Center. These creations are currently being sewn together and having sleeves attached by Extension Homemaker volunteers and Debbie Marsh’ high school Family and Consumer Science students. They will become a "Hanging Garden of Dreams for a Brighter Tomorrow" on Main Street lamp posts. This is an official Arkansas Heritage Month event, whose theme this year is "Arkansas Gardens, the Roots of Our Heritage".

The Parade

Our resident artist, Alice, has also been working with classes and groups on some truly incredible floats for a parade through downtown. Beginning in front of the high school at 1:00, the parade will make its way up Main Street to East First Street and out to the transfer station for a ribbon cutting and dedication.

Jim Wilcox´ Agriculture Education class has been gathering #10 tin cans from the school cafeterias and processing them into 2 large sculptures: "Can-Do", the scrap metal horse, and "CanDeed", his female sidekick. Both will travel down Main Street on carts under "people power". Ron Goddard´s ecology class has begun gathering plastic bottles at the high school and Clint Lucy´s science class is doing the same at the Middle School. These will fill shopping carts being loaned by James´ Super Save. Topping these carts of recyclables will be creatures sculpted by the Boys and Girls Club from bags of shredded paper which have been gathered from Community and Chambers Banks. Gerry Nichols´ high school band will play. Smokey the Bear will be there to show his support, as will members of the local mountain biking club. The Scott County Organization to Protect the Environment and the Arkansas Resource Center for Environmental Education will both have floats. Students will be decked out in costumes as they become Recycling Recruits. Professor Mars Hall, poet and celebration artist, along with the 8th grade GT class, will present a short skit. And beware the huge inflatable garbage bag beast, Bag-O-Debt, who warns that throwing away recyclables creates a monstrous debt for ourselves and generations to come. And the list continues to grow.

Free Lunch

Both Tyson and the Mena Medical Center will set up grills in the Main Street gazebo area and offer free food for the spectators. Mercy Hospital of Scott County will offer bottled water. So, bring a lawn chair and enjoy some chicken or a hamburger while you watch the show parade past. The Waldron Area Chamber of Commerce will dispense cold drinks donated by Pepsi and James Super Save to thirsty parade participants on arrival to the transfer station.
At 1:30 there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Recycle Works bins at the transfer station. Officials from such agencies as the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and many members of our 9 county solid waste board will be present. Mayor Anderson is the current chairman of that board and we are eternally grateful for his leadership. We have received a statement from Governor Huckabee saying in part: "This is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to build programs that contribute so much to the quality of life in Arkansas."

The Mini Parade

In order to involve as many students as possible, there will also be a mini parade at the elementary and middle schools at 10:30. Connie Johnston has been teaching the elementary children an Earth Day song and although it is being called a "mini parade" it promises to be nearly as grand as the main event.

This event is sponsored by the Scott County Organization to Protect the Environment and made possible by a grant from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality through the City of Waldron.

We chose Earth Day because recycling impacts the environment in so many ways. Recycling reduces the amount of garbage we send to the landfill, but it also accomplishes much more. It conserves our natural resources. Producing products from recycled goods uses less energy and produces less pollution than manufacturing products from raw materials. Beyond the environmental impacts, there are economic benefits as well.

So come join the fun Friday, April 22nd, at 1:00 on Main Street and start thinking of your trash in a whole new way. Remember, Every Day is Earth Day!