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Fairfield Bay received the Keep America Beautiful Community of the Year Award of Excellence April 28 at the annual Keep Arkansas Beautiful awards luncheon.
Seven other cities received separate awards and three other cities shared honors. In addition to Fairfield Bay, awards went to Cherokee Village, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, McCrory, Morrilton, Pine Bluff and Prescott. Morrilton, Plumerville, Menifee and Oppelo shared with Conway County the Meritorius Achievement Award in litter prevention and control in the government and business classification. The Fairfield Bay Beautification Committee also received the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) Award of Excellence in the litter prevention and control category in the community-support organization classification. The award was for its Keep Fairfield Bay Beautiful efforts. Fairfield Bay also received the Distinguished Service Award in the beautification and community improvement category in the community-support organization classification for its Seasons of Beauty at the Bay project. The Fairfield Bay Hippe Recycle Center received the Cricket Communications Awards of Excellence in the recycling and waste reduction category in the community-support organization classification for its electronics and white goods recycling project. And the Van Buren County Master Gardeners received the Meritorious Achievement Award in the beautification and community improvement category in the community-support organization classification for its works on Ed Leamon Park. Fairfield Bay in the last year created volunteer programs in litter prevention and control, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community improvement to improve its natural scenic beauty, serenity and quality environment. The Fairfield Bay Beautification Committee yearly participates in the Great Arkansas Cleanup. In 2004, 135 volunteers, ages 5 to 90+, collected more than 135 bags of litter and debris. The Fairfield Bay Hippe Recycle Center hosted an electronics and white goods recycling project that took 3,542 hours of volunteer service. More than 10,000 pounds of electronics were collected, and 11,000 pounds of white goods were recycled. In total, the project resulted in 458,832 total pounds of various materials being recycled. The Fairfield Bay Beautification Committee hosted the Seasons of Beauty at the Bay , which promoted seasonal beautification projects and created seasonal displays and hung seasonal banners. The Van Buren County Master Gardeners enhanced Fairfield Bay's Ed Leamon Park by planting butterfly and hummingbird, rose and herb gardens featuring native Arkansas plants, and installing walking paths, wind chimes and a gazebo.
Eureka Springs named a Community of the Year Eureka Springs received the Keep America Beautiful Community of the Year Meritorious Achievement Award. Eureka Springs also received the Delta Plastics of the South Award of Excellence in the recycling and waste reduction category in the government and business classification, and two Distinguished Service Awards, one each in the categories of litter prevention and control and beautification and community improvement, also in the government and business classification. Eureka Springs was recognized for the successes of three projects, the Holler Cleanup, Lodging Goes Green and Eureka Blooms! Using city employees and volunteers, Eureka Springs' efforts involved public and private partnerships to accomplish its goals in litter prevention and control, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community improvement. The Holler Cleanup involved the Community Development Partnership and Carroll County Solid Waste Authority and 10 volunteers to clean up illegal dumps in 20 mountain hollows around the community. Using an innovative lift system, 2,480 pounds of litter and debris were pulled up and removed. The Carroll County Solid Waste Authority and the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks developed a recycling project at the hotel. Through the Lodging Goes Green initiative, the hotel recycles guests' aluminum cans and paper goods, has installed low-flush toilets, and is reducing water and bleach usage in laundering. The Eureka Blooms! project was a partnership of volunteer citizens, business owners and the city. They planted wildflower and formal gardens at the courthouse, Trolley Depot and at entrances to Eureka Springs.
Fayetteville wins Award for 'Pay as You Throw' The City of Fayetteville received the Distinguished Service Award for its Pay As You Throw program in the recycling and waste reduction category in the government and business classification. "Pay As You Throw," involves 17,000 households and has a 75 percent participation rate. In 2004, just over 5 tons of paper, metal, plastic and glass materials were recycled and almost 6 tons of leaves, grass and brush were composted. The Pay As You Throw program limits the amount of trash households can leave for curbside pickup, diverting a significant amount of material from scarce landfill space around Fayetteville. Fayetteville also received a Certificate of Appreciation for entering the litter prevention and control and beautification and community improvement categories, both in the government and business classification. The Washington County Master Gardeners received a Certificate of Appreciation for entering the beautification and community improvement category in the community-support organization classification.
McCrory wins Recycling Award The City of McCrory received the Meritorious Achievement Award for its Recycling's Good for the Neighborhood program in the recycling and waste reduction category in the government and business classification. McCrory initiated a recycling program amidst much public "nay-saying." With grant funding, the city purchased a mobile recycling unit, allowing citizens to drop-off their plastic, metal, paper and glass recyclables. The city partnered with the local Cub Scout troop to promote good recycling habits, and since acquiring the mobile unit, has diverted a significant amount of materials from the landfill. McCrory also received a Certificate of Appreciation for entering the beautification and community improvement category in the government and business classification.
Conway County, its cities receive litter control honor Conway County and its municipalities-Morrilton, Plumerville, Menifee and Oppelo-received the Meritorious Achievement Award in the category of litter prevention and control in the government and business classification. Conway County also received a Certificate of Appreciation for entering the recycling and waste reduction category in the government and business classification. Last year, the county hosted Great Conway County Cleanup campaigns. Ten county employees and hundreds of citizen volunteers collected almost 2,000 tons of litter and debris, along with 237 tons of paper products and 140 tons of metal material for recycling. Additionally, 8,126 tires were collected and recycled. The value of volunteer labor and donated materials was estimated at $35,000. Conway County has focused on litter prevention and control over the past four years after it lost 1,000 industrial jobs. When an industrial plant location consultant told officials that Morrilton, the county seat, did not "show well" to industrial prospects, a coalition was formed to positively impact economic development and put into action some of the consultant's recommendations. Among the activities put into place were countywide litter pickup events in conjunction with Keep Arkansas Beautiful's Great Arkansas Cleanup in the fall and Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup in the spring.
Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Clean and Beautiful Wins Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Clean and Beautiful received a Certificate of Appreciation for beautification. The organization entered the beautification and community improvement category in the government and business classification for its fall Great Arkansas Cleanup event. More than 900 volunteers donated 2,700 hours of service.
Prescott/Nevada County Chamber of Commerce wins The Prescott/Nevada County Chamber Commerce received the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas Award of Excellence for its Together We Can project in the category of beautification and community improvement in the government and business classification. Several years ago after a slide show of unsightly areas around the town was presented to the Chamber, the City of Prescott and the Prescott/Nevada County Chamber of Commerce formed a Beautification Committee. With grants and money allocated from the city, sidewalks, parking lots and streets in downtown Prescott have been repaired or repaved, trees have been planted and the train depot has been renovated. A fountain, clock, new landscaping and an original mural have been installed on Sterling Square; playgrounds are planned. The Chamber also received a Certificate of Appreciation for entering the litter prevention and control category in the government and business classification. The Keep Arkansas Beautiful awards program recognizes businesses and government agencies, community-support organizations, and school and youth groups that foster environmental stewardship, improving community waste-handling practices, protecting the state's environmental quality or preserving the natural scenic beauty of the state. The Community of the Year award recognizes communities demonstrating continued excellence with sustainable programs that actively incorporate the three areas of Keep Arkansas Beautiful's mission-litter prevention and control, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification and community improvement. The Award of Excellence honors exemplary accomplishments in the Keep Arkansas Beautiful's mission areas within the classifications of government and business, community-support organization and school/youth group. Additionally, the Meritorious Achievement Award and the Distinguished Service Award recognize significant successes in litter prevention, recycling or beautification within the three group classifications. Each Award of Excellence recipient received a cash prize from Nucor Corp., the parent company of two steel mills in Mississippi County, to stimulate further environmental improvements in the recipient's community. Keep Arkansas Beautiful received 50 entries in this year's program. Entries were evaluated and ranked by each judge against a uniform standard of performance based on a program or project's need, execution, community involvement, resource utilization and impact. Each category was judged by a four-person panel consisting of Keep Arkansas Beautiful commissioners and individuals with experience and interest in the mission category. Awards designation was determined by the total score each entry received when all judges' scores were added together. This year's awards program sponsors are the Arkansas REALTORS® Association, AHTD, Cricket Communications, Delta Plastics of the South, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Keep America Beautiful Inc., the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation, Mangan Holcomb Rainwater Culpepper, Nucor Corp. and the Weyerhaeuser Corporation Foundation. Keep Arkansas Beautiful works to engage volunteers to enhance local communities to reduce litter, encourage recycling and promote scenic beautification. KAB is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and is overseen by a nine-member commission appointed by the governor. The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission is funded by 1 percent of the one-eighth-cent conservation tax, and by utilizing volunteers, returns to the state a cost-benefit of more than $5 in cost-avoidance community services for each program dollar spent. For more information about Keep Arkansas Beautiful, call 1-888-742-8701 or visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com.
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