Friday, 09 April 2010 04:25

CA Conservation Corps. Assist in River Pines Clean Up

slide3-ca_conservation_corps._assist_in_river_pines_clean_up.pngAmador County - River Pines is in the midst of a town-wide cleanup courtesy of the Amador Fire Safe Council and the California Conservation Corps. Amador FSC Executive Director Cathy Koos Breazeal told TSPN the cleanup is the result of a U.S. Forest Service grant for communities on the federal “at risk list.” It provides $110,000 for debris cleanup to preserve local watersheds and fire protection, with a required matching grant of $4000 in volunteer hours. Her agency applied for the grant last year and received funding last October. Breazeal said the River Pines Revitalization Association (RPRA) is “really trying to get their town back to the way it once was,” referring to the towns origin as a vacation resort in the 1920s. “All I did was engage the (Conservation Corps) and the townspeople began to pitch in,” she said. Beginning Monday, approximately 15 Corps and community members began the cleanup stage of the process. Homeowners who signed up ahead of time were asked to bring their trash to the curb and the volunteers travel block to block throwing the waste into dumpsters. Breazeal said the cleanup process will take approximately one week, at which point they will begin clearing defensible space around nearly 305 homes, many of which are built close together. Corps members are expected to help out on this and other area projects for the next six weeks. For every one year they work they get a year’s college tuition. Breazeal said the volunteers were also treated to a “historical and educational history of the town” by RPRA member Shirley Jones. “We are hoping that by doing all this it will give the townspeople more ownership,” said Breazeal. “There is a lot of personal pride in the town that we want to get back.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.