Hundreds expected to turn out for fifth annual cleanup

MOSES LAKE — Roll up those sleeves and get ready for a scrubbing, Moses Lake.

Hundreds of volunteers will take to the streets this weekend, picking up trash and adding a little sparkle during the community's annual citywide cleanup Saturday morning.

The event is being organized by Vision 2020, and Chairman Alan Heroux said it is expected to draw an estimated 300-350 people. The citizens group is organizing the event along with the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce and Moses Lake Business Association.

The streets have filled with trash over the past year, and with the exception of a few adopt-a-street and adopt-a-highway programs, Heroux said those roads have collected their fair share of litter. Over the past five years, cleaners have picked up an average of 50 cubic yards of garbage from city streets.

Cleaners will help wash that litter away, and Heroux said their efforts prove to be successful each spring.

"It's amazingly different," Alan Heroux said, commenting on the changes following the cleanup. He said the cleaner streets don't always last that long, but added it would be awful to see what those streets would look like if volunteers didn't do their part.

Volunteers are asked to meet at 8 a.m. at the Moses Lake Family Aquatic Center, where groups will disperse throughout the city. Volunteers will begin with the aquatic center and downtown, cleaning their way out through streets in the community.

"Any road around Moses Lake, we'll get as far out as we can," he said.

Heroux said the cleanup will last until around noon, when volunteers can enjoy lunch at the aquatic center hosted by Michael's on the Lake. Lakeside Disposal crews will transfer the picked up garbage to their landfill.

Anyone who wants to take part in the event, or with questions about it, is asked to call Heroux at (509) 750-0072.