Community takes care of the Earth

submitted photo-- The Green Team, Mrs. Cussimanio's first grade class, makes the rounds of other classrooms to pick up recyclables. Above, the class pauses for a snapshot with Eco-Troubador Stan Slaughter.

The city was abuzz with activity this weekend and on Monday and Tuesday, as the community did its part to take care of the environment.

On Saturday, the annual countywide clean-up day, in which the Recycling Center accepted unwanted items and trash from area residents free of charge, took place.

The weather was good, and dozens took advantage of the opportunity to get rid of items that have outlasted their usefulness; many of which will go on to be recycled and reused.

"This was by far the busiest we've ever been," Ron Clow, Nevada planning director, said Tuesday afternoon.

Clow said that with the exception of about 10 minutes there were cars lined up to unload at the dumpsters.

He said that during the four hours they were open they collected 150 computers, 65 televisions and more than 900 old tires, as well as household hazardous waste, in addition to nine dumpsters of refuse that could go to a landfill.

"David (Irwin) and Richard (Brockman) used the backhoes until 6:30 p.m. to put things in the dumpsters," he said, adding that he came out on Sunday to do more clean-up at the recycling center.

Because the clean-up days have gotten progressively more popular, Clow said that they are looking to make some changes before they hold the fall clean-up.

Clow said that they are considering moving the dumpsters to a different location on private property where there will be more room, while keeping the recycling operation at the Recycling Center.

"There is not enough room at the Recycling Center to line the dumpsters up," he said.

What he would like to do is locate the dumpsters in such a way that people can put their trash in the dumpsters themselves, instead of needing a backhoe to load it into the dumpsters.

He said that they would keep the tire and electronics drop-off, as well as, the household hazardous waste at the Recycling Center.

"We'll keep everything but the dumpsters on site," he said.

The event followed a visit to Bryan and Benton Elementary schools in Nevada last week, from the Eco-Troubadour, Stan Slaughter, who led the students in a song during a program at Bryan Elementary Thursday that involved singing and other entertainment. Slaughter showed the students a variety of products that help recycle trash into usable objects. At one point he said that recycling a stack of paper, shorter than he was, would save a 40-foot tree from being cut down.

The Eco-Troubadour used many songs and illustrations to help teach the students earth-friendly concepts. Another portion of his presentation involved an alternative to the traditional clay pot. Not only does it help by providing a product that helps recycle old automobile tires it is also unbreakable.

In addition to taking part in the assembly, students at Bryan school, the Nevada R-5 school district's preschool, kindergarten and first grade attendance center has its own "Green Team." Karen Cussimanio's first grade class is the official Green Team. The students in Cussimanio's class visit the kindergarten and first grade classrooms twice a month to pick up brightly colored buckets full of paper to recycle. The Green Team then empties the buckets into the special recycling dumpster at the school.

"Today's performance by Stan Slaughter-a.k.a. The Eco-Troubadour helped all the children realize the importance of recycling and taking care of the earth through action songs and entertainment.

"Some of the songs the Eco-Troubadour taught to the children included 'The Garbage Blues,' 'Recycle Shuffle' and 'Cosmic Stew,'" said Bryan Principal Debbie Spaur.

Slaughter also performed a similar program at Benton Elementary on Thursday.

All this, along with a wider variety of activities led up to Earth Day, an observance aimed at taking care of the environment in a variety of ways, on April 22.

At Nevada Middle School, students and staff members donned T-shirts -- ordered through the science department, featuring the Earth Day logo, the words "Earth Day Every Day" and the school's name. The shirts were green, of course.

Students also created a variety of Earth Day projects in science classes. Each grade level had a different "I pledge to help the Earth" display posted in the school as well.