Operation: Be Proud and community residents will gather Saturday to continue cleanup work at the Ninth Street Park.

Friday, April 06, 2001

Operation: Be Proud and community residents will gather Saturday to continue cleanup work at the Ninth Street Park.

Volunteers will install new equipment, including benches, swings, a teeter-totter and more, like nets on the basketball courts, said Angela Bacon of OBP, cleanup coordinator.

About 36 OBP members and volunteers, including young men and women from Lawrence County Juvenile Court, gathered this past Saturday to clean and paint around the park.

"We’ve had good weather for it, and gotten a lot accomplished," Ms. Bacon said Saturday afternoon.

As J.D. Cockrell helped paint the merry-go-round, other volunteers put together playground equipment for this Saturday’s cleanup. Several young men and women grabbed brushes to paint the wooden jungle gym a bright yellow.

"We want you to be driving down the street and say, ‘Wow, I want to go there and play,’" Ms. Bacon said.

Robert Pleasant, president of OBP, said the project was made possible by not only the volunteer help that community members give but also the Ironton-Huntington, W.Va., Empowerment Zone.

The Zone, created from a 10-year $100 million grant, is designed to spur economic development in the two cities by improving infrastructure and creating an environment attractive to future industry.

Funds from the Zone helped purchase equipment and materials for the park cleanup, Pleasant said.

Saturday’s cleanup will take place 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, or to find out how to help, call the OBP Enrichment Center at 534-9980.