Young Adults Help Clean up Trumann

A group of student workers pick up trash along Birch Avenue. (Democrat photo/Mark Randall)

In the next six weeks, a group of young workers will lend a hand doing odd jobs to help put the city of Trumann back together.

And the best part is, it doesn't cost the city a dime.

The Arkansas Workforce Center in Jonesboro received $1 million in federal stimulus money through the Workforce Invest Act to help fund the program which will provide full time summer jobs for about 700 students in Poinsett, Craighead, Clay Greene, Lawrence, Mississippi and Randolph Counties.

The program began June 1 and will continue for the next six weeks.

Money was appropriated by the county for young adults ages 16 to 24 to work for their hometown picking up debris and completing other odd jobs. The goal is to make their city a better, more presentable place.

"The idea is that we want to clean up the town," said Mayor Sheila Walters. "They're extra help and we've got them for six weeks so let's utilize it. New kids coming out of school need to learn how to work. This is a good six week period for those kids to work, plus it's going to look good on their resumes."

Each one is provided with a trash bag, safety vest, gloves and plenty of ice cold water. Two vehicles are needed to transport the participants from worksite to worksite and to provide rest areas during breaks.

Walters said the workers will mostly be picking up trash and debris, but she also plans to have them do some interior work such painting the inside of the Adult Education Center and the space next door which was once used by the Lions Club on days when it is raining.

Ronnie Thompson, who has been hired to oversee the young workers, said the program is very fulfilling.

"If I can help them and show them anything that they need to do, I enjoy that," Thompson said. "Maybe they'll learn something and maybe one day they'll come back and say 'You were an inspiration to me.' That's a big part of it."

According to the workers, the program is an enjoyable, beneficial way to spend their summer vacation. Tanner Clauson, a soon-to-be junior at THS, says working keeps him from being "cooped up in the house" and he likes getting paid for it. Another participant in the program, Teshadilia Mason, an upcoming senior at THS, added that she's making new friends and when summer draws to an end, she's going to miss working.

It may not be one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the story of this program may not be as historic as the Titanic, but by the end of the summer, these young citizens can look across their hometown and know that, with their own two hands, they made a difference.