Greensburg cleanup project gets recognition / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, April 28, 2008

Associated Press

April 28, 2008

Greensburg — The tornado-ravaged community of Greensburg is in the spotlight again - this time for a cleanup effort that volunteers organized last fall.

Community members, determined to rid the town of the huge piles of rubble left over from the storm, organized a cleanup weekend in October. The event was submitted as a project for USA Weekend's Make a Difference Day, which led to national recognition and a $10,000 donation for the town.

"It bothered me that there was still so much to be cleaned around town," said Ruth Ann Wedel, a Greensburg resident who was part of the project. "I wanted to get out and help."

The cleanup weekend involved 260 volunteers - 95 of them Greensburg residents who were mostly dealing with their own personal property losses.

The $10,000 will go toward preservation of Greensburg's Big Well, an attraction that is a popular piece of town history.

"It's early on to say exactly what it will be used for with the Big Well," Wedel said. "But one of the big things we need in our community is tax revenue, and the Big Well is one of those things that can generate that for us."

Wedel said being able to do the cleanup was a reward in itself. Being selected for Make a Difference Day - which receives millions of participants who volunteer to help with community projects - made the effort even more special, she said.

The Greensburg project was one of 10 projects chosen.

USA Weekend is spotlighting the winners in its latest edition.