This writer’s conscience was bothering me because recently we wrote about a very busy committee of Keep Opelika Beautiful’s, the Beautification & Awards Committee. Equally busy but in a different venue is the Business & Industry Committee that spawns so many of Keep Opelika Beautiful’s programs that benefit the community. This committee is composed of men and women representing businesses and industries in our area. From this committee has come recycling publications mentioned before in the column. One of its greatest accomplishments, five or six years ago, was reviewing all the city’s ordinances that dealt with the environment. It took them six months of meetings, but they got it done with recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. We are pleased to report that many of the changes in environmental ordinances such as the big black monsters, otherwise known as garbage cans, were enacted by the City Council. But then there was the matter of enforcement of the ordinances. This committee wrote not one but two letters in support of a Code Enforcement Officer, and was prepared to address the City Council and plead its case. Didn’t have to . . . the City council approved the position, and six to eight weeks, after interviews, Shane Kyles filled the position. He has been super . . . junk cars disappearing; weed control, etc, etc. Since then the “big black monsters” do not linger on the curbside as long as they used to, and if they do, enter Shane’s counterpart in the Solid Waste Division, Kenneth Dill, Assistant Solid Waste Superintendent. All this because one of Keep Opelika Beautiful’s key committees was concerned. These are business people and they don’t mess around with small talk. Consequently, KOB doesn’t waste their time. They meet every other month and what is produced in one hour keeps this writer busy for a month. A favorite program of this small committee is the recognition of the Clean Businesses. Like the Beautification and Awards Committee, it recognizes neatness and attractiveness. However, it also checks the loading docks, waste receptacles, etc. So the committee considers it quite an honor to recognize these businesses. Last but not least is a favorite of everyone on the Committee - - the Adopt-A-Mile program. The sponsors of these miles are the people who keep your gateways and street areas clean. Right before our Citywide Cleanup in March the Opelika Lions Club took West Frederick Road from Bread & Buggy to the Auburn City limits. Yes, it is more than a mile, but you know what, those members have already cleaned it twice to make certain it looks good for Opelika. Now, we have been informed that the Opelika Rotary Club is going to take East Frederick to Long Street. Are we smiling? You betcha! Meet the Committee, please:: Jerry Katz, chairman, Bill Trant, Lee Sadler, Ashely Marsh, Clint Neimeyer, Ashley Durham, Joyce Newland, Sandra Traywick, Mike Malphrus, Sherri McCollum, and Janet Mulvaney. Join us dear reader, Until the next time . . .
Keep Opelika Beautiful.
Let Keep Opelika Beautiful be the first to wish you, dear reader, a happy 4th of July! This year, the calendar date gives many of us a three-day weekend to celebrate. Some people take the week of the Fourth as vacation week because they get that holiday, so in vacation leave they only have to use four days to have actually a ten-day vacation. Years ago, in the area of Virginia where this writer grew up, that was a big furniture manufacturing area, the furniture plants “closed down” for the Fourth week to re-tool machinery, etc. in the plants. All employees had the same week of vacation. It was as if the cities and towns were on vacation, .and the schedule was repeated in December. It became a July and December ritual and the area revolved around “time-off.” It did propose an interesting question as to when the maintenance personnel and engineers took their vacations. From those years through today, this writer often wonders just how many people think about these liberties that our brave forefathers won for us with a Declaration of Independence. We take our liberties for granted, when we should be vigilant about them. There would not be a Keep Opelika Beautiful, a Red Cross, etc. and all non-profits without the people having the liberty to organize it, volunteer their own personal service . . . all liberties the individual has. And this writer believes in what Noah Webster wrote,”Wherever public spirit prevails, liberty is secure.” He should know for he lived during the time that this young country was being born and public spirit was at its zenith. But no, that is not quite correct. Public spirit today has to be comparable. Keep Opelika Beautiful benefited from a young Opelika citizen who exercised his liberty of choice. You have read about the passion young Davis Bartels (pictured) has about KOB’s little red caboose before in this column. A couple weeks ago, this writer received a call from a Chamber co-worker that there was a visitor waiting to see me. As I hurried to the office. the idea of someone waiting to see me sparked my curiosity since I knew KOB’s morning calendar was clear. Upon arriving, waiting for me was Davis, his mother, and grandmother, Davis and this writer chatted about our favorite thing - - the caboose. During the conversation I learned that Davis had brought money from his bank, plus money that Daddy and Mother and both grandparents had given him for his caboose crusade. Davis helped me count the money and lo my astonishment, we counted $ 277.79! Pictures were taken. Look for photographs taken on KOB’s Web site, keepopelikabeautiful.com. Thank you Davis. Keep Opelika Beautiful, your family and even your forefathers are proud of you as we celebrate July 4, 2008
If I could have jumped for joy last Thursday afternoon, I would have, for we pulled off our surprise planned for Caroline Dean with a wildflower trail being named for her in the beautiful woodland located behind the historic Covered Bridge in Opelika’s Municipal Park. This surprise sort of planned itself. Chuck Browne and Stan Roark of the Extension Service and the Master Gardeners were responsible for beginning planting of the Caroline Dean Trail. Caroline had spoken to the group earlier about wildflowers, and easily became the inspiration for bringing a trail about for people to walk in the natural loveliness of the woodland, spotting a native yellow azalea there or a wild hydrangea here. The Trail is in its embryonic stage with planting to continue in the fall allowing time for this initial planting to get “rooted” and surviving a summer’s drought (heaven forbid). So much credit has to be given to many people that this writer fears she will miss someone, but here goes. Claud Brown who acted as the “father” to the Covered Bridge talked to me about Keep Opelika Beautiful planting a trail in the woodland. There was no existing trail at the time. KOB hosted a luncheon with Claud, Caroline, Stan Roark, Bill Harrelson and I. After a follow-up meeting with John Seymour, city administrator, Bill Harrelson, director of Opelika Parks and Recreation and Mike Hilyer, director of ESG, it was decided to focus on Claud’s drawing of the proposed trail. Next came wonderful Clay Scott, who bush-hogged poison ivy and honeysuckle, etc. to even find the ground underneath. Next was Opelika Light and Power who came and cut down trees to develop a trail. Along the way, Claud had secured the help of an Auburn fraternity whose guys worked all day one Saturday and cleared and cleared. Then it was time for the Master Gardeners to begin their weekend stint of planting starting on a Friday and working on Saturday with Stan Roark and Dani Carroll leading them. Then just when we thought we had everything in the works to do our “little thing” for Caroline, she was off to Washington, D.C. to receive a national wetlands award. But that worked out well for us because it gave ESG’s Public Works people time to come in and “gussy up” the Trail really nicely. The trick was to get Caroline into the area without her seeing the sign with her name on it. Claud brought her in the area via the service road so she literally walked the Trail and under the sign to join the gathering. It was at her back as she spoke, and when Mayor Fuller spoke honoring her, he had to gently turn her around to see her name on the Trail’s entrance. The photograph William White took of her, as she viewed it, that appeared in Friday’s Opelika-Auburn News, said it all. And now, “you know the rest of the story.”