Carlton gets clean sweep crew

It was yardwork on overdrive Friday when close to 100 Carlton students spent the morning cleaning yards, trailsides and the entire Hillside Cemetery in advance of the citywide brush collection Monday.

"It's nice to see the kids out and about in the community, doing their part," said Leola Rodd, who has organized the annual cleanup since 2010. "And it's good for the kids to get out. We'll do it if somebody calls, I don't question eligibility. If you need your yard raked or want it raked, we will come and do it."

Many of the residents who call are older or injured and would find it difficult to keep up with the yardwork, while others just need a helping hand. Cathie and Ron Anderson are regulars; they have an enormous yard in the heart of Carlton. Their home was a maternity hospital years ago and there's a section on the south side of the house that Kathie calls "the woods." She said the kids had 50 bags this year from their yard alone this year.

"They rake and bag up everything. If they find stuff in the woods or trash in the yard, they'll bag all that stuff up. There was a mountain of bags in the front yard plus branches and sticks," she said. "It was really nice having the kids here again."

In all, the students raked and picked up 13 different sites. They raked and picked up brush and leaves at the cemetery in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day ceremony, then went to a nearby home before walking back into town and picking up trash along the walking trail. Another group walked along the highway from downtown Carlton to South Terrace Elementary school and around homes in that area, while others tackled the Oldenburg House grounds and other homes.

Rodd said they had a total of 72 students in grades 7-9, plus 12 National Honor Society members, kids from the Youth Eco Solutions (YES) group and another 12 staff or community members who both helped and supervised the younger students.

Rodd said Carlton science teacher Tracy Bockbrader has been her co-coordinator for years. "She put together the list detailing where the kids were going to be because she knows the kids, so she tried to mix it up a little," Rodd said, admitting that she doesn't know all the students anymore since she retired from teaching more than a decade ago.

After they were finished, the students ate hot dogs grilled by firefighters at the park, another annual tradition.

"I would love it if the whole school could do it and stay out all day," Rodd said.