KINGWOOD — Looking for something to do besides walk from the refrigerator to the sofa, while fighting the COVID-19 virus?
How about cleaning your yard, home or the roadside? Or that of an essential worker?
At the request of the Preston County Chamber of Commerce BAD Buildings Committee, the Preston County Commission has declared April Clean-Up Preston Month. Committee Co-Chair Jessica Lipscomb said plans were made for the month before the coronavirus changed people’s lives. But sitting outside one evening and later on a walk, she noticed people outside cleaning up.
Committee Members Amanda Pitzer and Kristy Ash agreed it would be good to proceed, to “do something positive,” Lipscomb said.
The committee encourages everyone to clean up roadsides, homes and properties. If your yard is tidy and your front porch clean, wouldn’t it be a nice surprise for an essential worker to come home to freshly planted flowers?
The committee is asking people to post before and after photos of the area cleaned on Facebook or Instagram, at #cleanuppreston or @prestonchamber or @friendsofthe cheat. If you don’t do social media, call the chamber at 304-329-0576, and someone will come take a photo to enter.
Four winners will receive gift certificates from the chamber to a local restaurant that offers take out. “We really wanted to do everything we could to try and keep money here in Preston County, so we can support our neighbors and friends,” Lipscomb said.
But, committee members stress, obey CDC recommendations for maintaining social distancing, while doing your clean up. Also, please stay close to home and only work with families and “isolation buddies.” Do not organize large groups or carpools.
Groups that violate the rules will be eliminated from the contest.
Roadside cleanup supplies, including bags and trash pickers, can be obtained by calling Preston County Litter Control Officer Jay Sowers at 304-698-5594.
People can also use their own trash bags. Please put all the bags together in a single, easy to access area, so that they can be picked up.
“When life gets back to normal, if we can look around and say we did something positive in our down time, I think we’re all going to feel a lot better about these weeks we spent at home,” Lipscomb said.
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