Remainder of picnic tables at City Park get facelift

By BRITTANY FHOLER 

Cove Leader-Press 

More than 100 volunteers turned out to paint the rest of the picnic tables in City Park during the Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Paint Party Phase II. 

Volunteers painted the first 30 of the 60 total tables on July 18 and came back Saturday morning to paint the remaining 30 tables. With the option to register online and stay somewhat isolated from others, families were able to participate while keeping their social distance in light of COVID-19. 

“It’s funny because when you look around, it’s spread out, so you don’t feel that ‘family-ness’, but everyone’s doing their own thing, and the main thing is they came out and contributed and painted the picnic tables, which we appreciate,” said KCCB Executive Director Roxanne Flores-Achmad. 

FIores-Achmad added that a total of 120 people had signed up to paint tables on Saturday. 

“We are excited to be able to see all of the hard work the volunteers did, and it’s also a sense of pride being able to see, ‘Wow, they did this,’ and made a difference in the park,” Flores-Achmad said. “It’s a small difference, but it’s a big difference for those that did it.”

The paint was donated by Sherwin Williams, while the rollers and other tools were donated by Ace Hardware. 

Mark and Marie Sorensen showed up again to help paint, having helped out at the first KCCB Paint Party. Marie said she and her husband volunteer for a website called Just Serve and were looking for a way to help out around the community when they found out about Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful and the first paint party. 

“Last time, we were here, and it was so marvelously organized, and of course everybody was wearing masks and keeping six feet apart, and it’s a beautiful day in the park and this can be done,” Sorensen said.  

Sorensen said that she thought the effort was wonderful. 

“Of course, we love Copperas Cove and just the idea of doing something for the community because you know, sometimes you scratch your head, and you don’t know what to do, but to paint a table? How fun!” Sorensen added.

The Sorensens took their time painting and made sure to cover every inch of the table with the new color. 

“It’s just one of those things that you can’t rush it, but it’s lots of fun to do, so you just kind of do as you’re directed and keep moving,” Sorensen said. 

Sorensen said she was glad that Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful offered this opportunity. 

“I love that because you know, this is such a beautiful park to begin with, but it does need care, and so we do need to come out and help,” Sorensen said. “I realize there’s a budget for Parks and Recreation that takes care of a lot of it and the mowing and stuff like it but it’s when people go, ‘We love our park and we want to help keep it clean and beautiful,’ that’s when you really get proud of your community and know that people are invested.”

For Shannon Thompson, Saturday was her first time painting the tables, but she said she enjoyed it. 

She managed to paint the first table in about 45 minutes before she began working on second table in the shade, with a friend. 

“I think that it’s great,” Thompson said about the Paint Party. “It cleans up the park, and it looks a lot better.”

The next Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful project will be planting planters located on Avenue D on September 12. The following Saturday, September 19, will be the annual Fall Sweep trash pick-up, where volunteers will pick up trash along roadways and other areas, including a water way in Copperas Cove.