thedrifter
03-16-08, 07:59 AM
Albany honors retired Marines
Retired Marines are taking to land and water on a mission to clean up the Flint River in Albany.
J.D. SUMNER j.d.sumner@albanyherald.com
ALBANY — A group of retired Marine volunteers were honored by the city Saturday for their work cleaning what one organizer called the “living, flowing heart of Albany.”
With city leaders in tow, Tom Newton, Kelly Frisk and other members of the the Albany detachment of the Marine Corps League walked down to the banks of the river they’ve worked so hard to clean and hammered in a sign officially proclaiming their adoption of the Flint.
“As Marines, we feel at home both on the water and on land, so what other more fitting civic project could we undertake than to help clean the Flint River?” Newton said.
Armed with a flotilla of canoes and kayaks and a land-based battalion of gung-ho trash eliminators, Newton and the group began their operation in September. Since then, the former Marines have been taking care of riverside litter with extreme prejudice.
“I would hope that this dedicated group of people really becomes the model,” Judy Bowles, executive director of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, said. “They’re motivated and they have taken it upon themselves to make a difference to this community by being enviromentally friendly.”
Bowles, who spents a lot of her time educating the community and trying rally residents to be more enviromentally responsible, said that it was refreshing to have someone coming to her asking to help.
“It was great to have someone knocking on my door wanting to help,” shesaid. “I think that means that our initiatives to put the area’s enviromental concerns to the forefront of people’s thinking is starting to work.”
Frisk, the detachment’s vice commandant, said that the group prides itself on looking out for the interests of Marines and said that he considered it their civic duty to help the community.
“We’re more than just a Marine advocacy group, we care about our community and we hope this is just one way we can show that,” Frisk said.
Since September, the group has managed to excavate tires, lawnmowers, computers and general litter from the Georgia Power Dam all the way down to Turtle Grove play park. And organizers say they aren’t done.
“This is something we hope we can maintain,” Newton said. “We want to make sure that the river and the riverfront is enjoyable for everyone.”
For Bowles, the Marines’ work is tanamount to reviving a nearly discarded gem.
“This river is the living, flowing heart of the city and by polluting it, people are contaminating the entire area,” she said. “We’re just now starting to learn the precious value of water and I hope actions like those of this group will catch on so that we can preserve our waterways.”
Ellie
Retired Marines are taking to land and water on a mission to clean up the Flint River in Albany.
J.D. SUMNER j.d.sumner@albanyherald.com
ALBANY — A group of retired Marine volunteers were honored by the city Saturday for their work cleaning what one organizer called the “living, flowing heart of Albany.”
With city leaders in tow, Tom Newton, Kelly Frisk and other members of the the Albany detachment of the Marine Corps League walked down to the banks of the river they’ve worked so hard to clean and hammered in a sign officially proclaiming their adoption of the Flint.
“As Marines, we feel at home both on the water and on land, so what other more fitting civic project could we undertake than to help clean the Flint River?” Newton said.
Armed with a flotilla of canoes and kayaks and a land-based battalion of gung-ho trash eliminators, Newton and the group began their operation in September. Since then, the former Marines have been taking care of riverside litter with extreme prejudice.
“I would hope that this dedicated group of people really becomes the model,” Judy Bowles, executive director of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, said. “They’re motivated and they have taken it upon themselves to make a difference to this community by being enviromentally friendly.”
Bowles, who spents a lot of her time educating the community and trying rally residents to be more enviromentally responsible, said that it was refreshing to have someone coming to her asking to help.
“It was great to have someone knocking on my door wanting to help,” shesaid. “I think that means that our initiatives to put the area’s enviromental concerns to the forefront of people’s thinking is starting to work.”
Frisk, the detachment’s vice commandant, said that the group prides itself on looking out for the interests of Marines and said that he considered it their civic duty to help the community.
“We’re more than just a Marine advocacy group, we care about our community and we hope this is just one way we can show that,” Frisk said.
Since September, the group has managed to excavate tires, lawnmowers, computers and general litter from the Georgia Power Dam all the way down to Turtle Grove play park. And organizers say they aren’t done.
“This is something we hope we can maintain,” Newton said. “We want to make sure that the river and the riverfront is enjoyable for everyone.”
For Bowles, the Marines’ work is tanamount to reviving a nearly discarded gem.
“This river is the living, flowing heart of the city and by polluting it, people are contaminating the entire area,” she said. “We’re just now starting to learn the precious value of water and I hope actions like those of this group will catch on so that we can preserve our waterways.”
Ellie