Don’t Mess With Texas Trash-off set for Saturday

On Saturday, volunteers are needed to roll up their sleeves to help as Copperas Cove participates in the annual Don't Mess With Texas Trash-Off.

“Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful is very excited to participate in Texas’s largest cleanup event. Since there is never a shortage of litter so we hope for a great turnout,” said Silvia Rhoads, KCCB's executive director. “There are so many people in Copperas Cove that care about their community and want to help keep it clean. After the cleanup, we are going to have a free hot dog lunch at one of our parks.”

Rhoads is hoping for a great turnout so teams of workers can tackle several areas in the city to clean up the litter, specifically the drainage area on Georgetown Road, across from Wal-Mart, as well as an area along Constitution Drive.

Volunteers should assemble in the Town Square Parking lot near G.C. Services at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Those who volunteer will be provided with bags and garbage pickers.

For more information, contact Silvia Rhoads at 254-547-4242, or email kccb@copperascovetx.gov.

This is the first community-wide cleanup event of 2016 and is also taking place statewide. It serves as Texas’ signature event for the Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program.

During last year's Trash-Off, the volunteers collected 35 bags of litter, which came in at 180 pounds of mostly paper, plastic and Styrofoam. One lucky volunteer man found $20 in a field. At the 2014 Trash-Off, volunteers collected a whopping 580 pounds of trash.

KCCB documents events like the Trash-Off to include in its submission to Keep Texas Beautiful's annual competition. This is the first year since KCCB's 2013 win of the Governor's Community Achievement Award that the group is eligible to win again with their 2016 activities.

“KCCB volunteers work very hard all year long to make each year better than the year before. It’s easy when you have a volunteer board of 'do-ers',” Rhoads said. “While we enter the Governor's Community Achievement Award very year, we are especially energized about this year and the possibility of winning in our category. It took 10 years for us to win the first time so we are hopeful but take nothing for granted. There are a lot of communities in Texas and in our category that deserve to win the GCAA as much as we do, so even if we do not win, we are thrilled at the growth we experience and will continue to try each year.”

With the 2013 win of the GCAA, KCCB won $210,000 in funding which will go toward the construction of the first section of landscaped median on Business Highway 190.