25th Annual Mulberry River Clean Up Day

[Brad Wimberly]

Volunteers Pour In For 25th Annual Mulberry River Clean Up Day
On the first Saturday in March around 200 volunteers answered the call for help to keep their beloved Mulberry River clean. Most were from a one hour radius, but some traveled several hours to take part in the annual event hosted for the last quarter century by Turner Bend. Beautiful weather and a moderate river level made conditions just right for the large crowd. The Forest Service provided two big trailers and hauled off the trash after the volunteers filled them to the brim with litter. Merchants such as Post Winery, Rivertowne Bar B Q, Oark Café, Southtown Sports, Graphic Services, Lewis and Clark, Mulberry Mountain, Homegrown Clothier, and Pig Trail Liquor provided door prizes to help motivate the participants. Keep Arkansas Beautiful and the Arkansas Stream Team gave dozens of t-shirts and caps that were distributed to the crowd. Tyson Foods provided an ample quantity of chicken that Steve Outlaw prepared along with the side dishes for the hearty crew. The Pack Rat sold the Mulberry River Society a kayak at cost that was raffled off to help fund the effort. The MRS helped with every aspect of the clean up which made it run smoother than ever. Todd Ruffin with Midwest Drone Productions filmed the festivities for the MRS facebook page. This event, coupled with a similar effort hosted by Byrd’s Adventure Center each fall, are keeping the Mulberry River valley cleaner than might have been thought possible years ago.

[prophet]

thanks Brad, great job as usual