Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Day draws volunteers on Saturday

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

Copperas Cove got a bit more beautiful over the weekend.
Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful (KCCB) held its first Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Day on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. They hope to hold the event annually. 
Volunteers gathered at the Santa Fe parking lot before dispersing to several cleaning locations, where volunteers removed graffiti at Heritage Park and the drainage ditch at Creek and Sunny, picked up trash along Lutheran Church Road and along Business 190 near Lone Star Dental, painted and restored the Miner Statue in the Santa Fe parking lot, and removed weeds from planters and cleaned up the sidewalks along Avenue D across from the Santa Fe parking lot.
Roxanne Flores-Achmad, Executive Director of KCCB, said that having a Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Day was a great way for the group to finish up several of their smaller projects.
“It’s a day that we as a group can come out here and provide a service in our community doing a variety of things—graffiti removal, trash removal, as well as beautification such as planting or pulling weeds,” said Flores-Achmad. “It’s just a great day to come out, roll your sleeves up, and get dirty.”
Ashley Osborn brought her children Wyatt Osborn (3) and Owen Osborn (9) to help her with trash pickup.
“We’ve done almost all of KCCB’s cleanup events,” said Ashley Osborn. “It’s a way to get them out and show them the importance of volunteering for our community.”
She said that the cleanup events are something that her kids are able to help out with and it’s something that they enjoy.
“I like the grabby things,” said Owen Osborn about the trash pickers that he was using. Owen also said that he liked cleaning up to help the animals.
Hana Hendrix and her husband, Jordan Hendrix, brought their children Haelyn (3), Jordan Jr. (5), and Jianna (10 months) to help with the cleanup event.
“I think it is important to pick up trash because our world is suffering due to excessive pollution,” said Hana Hendrix. She said that her kids see the plastic bottles and other recyclables on the floor and wonder why people don’t put them in the recycling bins. She said that it’s important to her that her children know about picking up trash and taking care of the environment.
“I told them that we were going to pick up trash in the morning, and they were super excited,” said Hendrix. “They love this.”
KCCB’s next big event will be a cleanup on Aug. 5 at the City Park duck pond and the area around it.