Community Column: Cleaning up lake in the cold
Published 8:40 am Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Dirty job: An Alabama Power barge returns to Higgins Ferry Park with trash collected in Lake Mitchell.
By Peggy Bullard
Renew Our Rivers Lake Mitchell fall cleanup on Nov. 1 was actually a winter one.
With morning temperatures of 36 degrees and the water white capping from the winds, those that did show up were considered very dedicated to keeping our lake clean.
According to Lee Poe, president of Lake Mitchell Home Owners and Boat Owners, there were about 32 participants. The cold definitely kept some volunteers at home, but 200 pounds of trash was still picked up.
Scholarship applicants: Lake Mitchell HOBO scholarship applicants Macey Thompson (left) and Ashley Lanier helped with the lake clean-up.
Two scholarship applicants braved the bitter winds and climbed aboard the Alabama Power barge to meet the criteria to qualify for a scholarship that HOBO awards each year. Ashley Lanier from Chilton County High School and Macey Thompson from Jemison High School came bundled up to defy the bitter cold.
All applicants must be a senior in good standing with at least a B average and planning to attend an Alabama college in the fall of 2015. They must also participate in one or more Lake Mitchell cleanups, write an essay and be interviewed by members of the committee. These two young ladies brought a parent with them on an extremely cold day to fulfill one of these requirements, and I was not the only one who was impressed.
They were all smiles when they arrived. When the barge returned with a load of trash to be unloaded, they were still all smiles as they carried it to the dump truck and headed to the pavilion for a hot dog lunch.
Those who prepared the picnic lunch were freezing, and some of us camped out in the car to warm up while waiting on the clean-up crew to return.
Scholarship applicants: Jim Woodrow (left) shows Higgins Ferry Park Ranger Jacob Sim how to perform water testing
Even with the bitter cold winds, Jacob Sim, Higgins Ferry Park ranger, got a lesson from Jim Woodrow on water testing. The men stayed bundled up while they ate, and some were even seen trying to manage their hot dog with their gloves on. You might say it was a day to have stayed home by the fire.
We are thankful for those dedicated to HOBO and to the Alabama Power team for their commitment to having a pristine lake. Looking forward to spring already.
–Peggy Bullard is a community columnist for the Lake Mitchell community.
