Pahrump Town Cleanup returns on Saturday

A popular autumn-time event returns to the valley on Saturday, as local groups and volunteers will hit the streets for the annual Pahrump Town Cleanup.

The event is coordinated through Nye Communities Coalition’s AmeriCorps organization, as part of what’s known nationally, as “Make a Difference Day.”

AmeriCorps representative April Jackson said the 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. event kicks off at the coalition campus, located at 1020 E. Wilson Road.

“We’re looking for groups and individuals to gather here at Nye Communities Coalition on Saturday,” she said. “We will begin here and work our way throughout the community in an effort to clean up our town and make Pahrump a more pleasant place to live. Make a Difference Day is actually a nationally-recognized event, where people come together and work to create positive change in their respective communities. The town cleanup in and of itself has been going on for about 15 years.”

Additionally, Jackson said all of the necessary supplies will be provided by the coalition throughout the morning.

“Everything will be available for the groups and individuals, including water, gloves and trash bags,” she said. “At the end of it, we can plan on having a cookout here at the coalition campus, so everybody can stay and have a bite. It will take place after the cleanup is over. For safety purposes, minors must be supervised during the town cleanup throughout the morning on Saturday.”

A handful of area agencies have joined forces to sponsor the cleanup, including the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership, the Partners of Prevention AmeriCorps Programs and the Nuclear Waste and Environmental Advisory Committee (NWEAC).

Committee co-chairman John Pawlak said he hopes the event will draw a strong community response.

“We are basically in the center of town and we get a lot of trash strewn around behind Walmart, Petrack Park and other areas in the community,” Pawlak said. “It fans out more evenly as we get further away from the center of town, where the trash seems to dissipate.

“In years past, we’ve noticed that some of the dumpsters in town get very little use, while others begin to overflow. We do have a rapid response vehicle, which is my van with no seats,” he said. “I will be able to bring the van to various areas in town to pick up trash from overflowing dumpsters and deposit it in the main dumpster. We always want to thank Pahrump Valley Disposal for their efforts with this annual event.”

Weather-wise, Saturday’s high temperature is expected to reach 70 degrees with periods of clouds and sunshine.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. Follow @sharrispvt on Twitter.