Rocky Top rallies: Volunteers turn out for annual cleanup day
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The volunteer crew members who took part in Rocky Top’s cleanup day last Saturday (March 16) gather for a group photo after having lunch in the City Council chambers following the morning’s activities. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Lifelong Rocky Top resident Shane McMillan picks up trash along Fourth Street during Saturday morning’s Rocky Top Cleanup Day. He was among the many volunteers who turned out for the event. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Participants in last Saturday’s Rocky Top cleanup load up on food at City Hall in the lunch made available for volunteers at the end of the event. At the top end of the table is Chief Of Police John Thomas. Mayor Kerry Templin and his wife, Carolyn, are to the right. - G. Chambers Williams III
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At least 26 volunteers turned out to help city officials clean up the streets of Rocky Top this past Saturday as the town held its second-annual cleanup day.
The group participating in the event gathered at 8 a.m., and finished the day with a free lunch in the City Hall council meeting room just after noon – with hot dogs and drinks provided by the city. Kathy Jenkins made West Side Snack Bar chili for the hot dogs, Mayor Kerry Templin said.
“We were glad to see so many people come out to help,” the mayor said. “We picked up less garbage than we had to last year because it just wasn’t there.
“Last year, we had to bring the garbage truck out because we picked up so much trash. It seems like people are doing a little bit better at keeping the trash off the streets since last year.”
The cleanup effort got a boost from about six employees of Geon Performance Solutions in the Carden Farm Industrial Park in Clinton who turned out to help.
Geon even donated some items to help with the cleanup, including new wheelbarrows and gloves for the volunteers.
Templin and Greg Phillips, a production supervisor from Geon who lives in Rocky Top, spent part of the morning using shovels to clean up gutters along Main Street, putting the black dirt into wheelbarrows.
One wheelbarrow they were using had a flat front tire, which Templin was a bit embarrassed about. But as it was about to be filled up with dirt from the gutter, a representative from Geon – Ronnie Clowers – showed up just in time to replace it with a brand new wheelbarrow from Ace Hardware, courtesy of Geon.
Among the volunteers picking up trash along Fourth Street was Shane McMillan, who has lived in Rocky Top for his entire 54 years.
“I’ve always been an advocate for community service,” he said.
His wife, Michelle McMillan, was also on hand to help with the cleanup. She and city Councilwoman Stacy Phillips were picking up trash on Fourth Street, but had also already had two discarded mattresses picked up behind Corner Drugs, Phillips said.
“We really appreciate the folks showing interest in their community,” Templin said. “We even had a couple who just moved into town from Michigan two weeks ago who showed up to help, which impressed me.
“We also had a good turnout of elderly parishioners from First Baptist Church,” the mayor said.
“It’s a constant work in progress,” Templin said of his administration’s goal of getting Rocky Top back on track.
“The little things like keeping the town clean really will help us in the long run.”
Also assisting in the cleanup were City Manager Mike Ellis; Templin’s wife, Carolyn.