Join the Kingston clean team

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, September 27, 2000

“KINGSTON – Grab your gloves and community pride. Volunteers are needed Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to pick up trash in downtown as part of the 4th Kingston Pride Day. Groups will meet in the John L. Scott parking lot where vests and hard hats as well as cookies and coffee will be provided. Kelly Campo and his two children plan to be part of the volunteer crew scouring the streets. The trio participated in the event last year and had a good time. I felt like it was an important part of living in the community, Campo said of the event. He said he wanted his kids, then 4 and 7 years old to feel like part of a bigger community. About 30 people participated in the event last year, which is sponsored by the Kingston Revitalization Association. There’s a lot of pride and community spirit in Kingston, said Carin O’Handley of the Kingston Revitalization Association. This is just one way we show our pride in the community, she said. Campo said his kids last year were less than thrilled to hear that they would spend Saturday morning collecting garbage, but the search for trash became more like a hunt for treasure. We found a dead fish, Campo said adding that this find was the most disgusting item collected. A close second was the inundation of cigarette butts and cartons, Campo said. The family filled five garbage bags. We found silverware, clothing, shoes, beer cans, and beer bottles, he said. O’ Handley said that two hours of volunteer efforts bring back the sparkle to downtown. Campo said his children picked up more than just rubbish during Kingston Pride Day 1999, they picked up a valuable lesson. Still to this day we’ll go by a place and say ‘boy that place was dirty,’ and remember how they helped clean it up, Campo said. “