City volunteers at work

Posted

I began with a conversation about trash. It's not a good look for Page and leaves a poor impression on visitors. Everyone knows the best way to lead is by example, but it's easier said than done. Page City Manager Darren Coldwell and Human Resources and Risk Manager Rachell French took action to do something about it.

Sunday, the Chronicle spoke with French. She said, "We want it to look better, not only for the tourists but for the citizens. So, we decided to go ahead and start doing a cleanup day." Around 12 city employees volunteered. She said, "I liked it so much I decided, you know what, let's keep doing this. We've done it for about six months now."

Every month, volunteers get lunch and spend 3-4 hours picking up trash. The 12 break up into smaller groups. French said they "try to hit as many areas as possible and pick up as much trash as possible. On average, we usually get about 20 bags of trash, if not more."

After an afternoon of picking up trash, there are always stories to share. Besides the typical broken glass, cans, plastic bottles, and fast-food containers, there are mysterious, head-scratching finds. Mayor Bill Diak found a set of cassette tapes on his first day out. French said, "It's amazing what we find. I mean, we've found, new spare tire, rolls of carpet, we've found money, $20 bills and full-on outfits, shoes, tons of stuff. It's just it's unreal the amount of debris that is left out there." She added, "One person found an entire outfit. I mean from head-to-toe, shoes everything, like somebody took off their entire outfit and changed into something else and left it there. And a backpack." French joked, "They changed identities or something."

The cleanup crew usually works along Coppermine Road and U.S. highways 98 and 89, but also Lake Powell Boulevard and by the airport, where people park their cars at a Rim View Trail entrance. French said, "We've gone to the Frisbee golf park and tried to pick up as much of the broken glass as possible. It's pretty bad down there. My family and I take our kids down there and to play that, and it's terrible. We tried to get as much as we could there one day. We could have been there for days and still not make an impact."

The crew noticed significant improvements on Coppermine and 98 since the first cleanup trip. French said, "It's totally changed it. If we just keep it up. Those of us who are doing it on a regular basis -- we've noticed that it's not as overwhelming as it was that first time. So that's one thing that's really great; you can see that it's making a difference."

French said the regular volunteers plan to continue the work indefinitely and that she and others enjoy the task and being outdoors. She said, "It something I really look forward to."

City employees volunteer their time to other community efforts, like unloading trucks at the food bank, participating in food drives, and helping the animal shelter.

It began as a city employee effort, but area businesses like Amangiri have stepped up to the plate. French said, "They filled up a ton of their Suburbans full of food and donated to our food drive, which was a total surprise to us. It was awesome." She said Classic Air, Coconino Federal Credit Union, and many people from town got involved.

Currently, city employees are working on a clothing drive. French said, when she learns of a need where they can help, she sends a notice to city employees.

Businesses who want to help can contact Rachell French at Page City Hall.

Mayor Bill Diak helps clean up Page - Photo by Maryam Moeinian

Mayor Diak - Photo by Maryam Moeinian