By John Fry
Special to the Gazette
In spite of rain, the Bi-annual Charleston Park Clean Up and Cook Out went off without a hitch.
Charleston Park was established in 1926. The cleanup has been a part of the Charleston Park Community for 22 years and is a community tradition where Charleston Park youth are involved in a monthly cleanup. The clean ups are scheduled in April and October.
Alice Washington, the Resident Coordinator for the Charleston Park Clean Up said, “I think it went great… the collaboration with the residents, the Board of the Charleston Park Neighborhood Association, the Lehigh Acres Community Initiative, Lee County Code Enforcement and Keep Lee County Beautiful. Volunteers turned out in numbers even in the rain. Every street was cleaned, and everything picked up. The dumpsters, the trash bags and the water for the volunteers were donated by Keep Lee County Beautiful and Rudy Bush. Every year for the past 15 years, Bush has made sure that we have all these things to help us in our goal of keeping Charleston Park beautiful.”
George Szymanski of the Lehigh Acres Community initiative said, “It was a lot of people making it better.” Szymanski and Bill Nottling of the Lehigh Acres Community Initiative were on hand to assist.
Lenore Bennet of Lee County Code enforcement said, “I like when the community tells you what they want. It helps you do a better job.”
The cleanup started about 7:30 am and went until about 11 am, packing a full dumpster. The residents enjoyed hamburgers, hotdogs and drinks. Food was prepared by Theresa Thomas and Janey Smith . There were a total of 27 volunteers participating in the Charleston Clean Up.
