VFW Day of Service Friday

HALEYVILLE    - The second annual community clean up, partnering the city of Haleyville with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4543, will take place this Friday, May 1, at the city sports complex.
The public, along with VFW members, will be meeting at the parking lot of the sports complex at 4:30 p.m. to organize the clean up, which will begin at 5 p.m. and last until dark, according to Bryan Lawler, sports complex superintendent, as well as VFW Post 4543 commander.
Although this marks the second community clean up, it also marks the 10th anniversary VFW Day of Action or Day of Service, when the VFW organizes and participates in community service for the month of May, Lawler added.
For the second year, the VFW Day of Action has adopted the clean up of a section of 9th Avenue from 28th Street about a mile to Dime Road, which includes the area of the sports complex, organizers said.
Dwight Thomas, senior vice commander of VFW Post 4543, noted the Haleyville project will be a part of the national VFW Day of Service.
“It can’t be doing something around the post home. It’s got to be in the community,” Thomas stated. The VFW Day of Service was not a national observance until last year, he noted.
In order to the clean up this Friday as part of the VFW Day of Service, a report had to be sent to the national headquarters, listing the time, date and the approximate amount of participants, Thomas explained.
Last year, the clean up on VFW Day of Service picked up trash along the same stretch of roadway thanks to at least 10 volunteers filling about 10 bags at least holding 50-gallons each with litter and trash, which is frequently tossed out along that road, Lawler said.
Such trash as beer cans, empty food containers and other containers are commonly tossed out along the side of 9th Avenue in that area, Lawler added.
“It’s open for the community, anybody that wants to come out and help us,” Thomas added.“If you are traveling through this year, please use caution, because we’ll have people out in the road going back and forth.”
Plans are to put up cones at Dime Road, to keep motorists from traveling onto 9th Avenue during the clean up, Lawler said.
This year, those volunteering need to wear older clothes, bring devices or grabbers to pick up trash, with trash bags provided by the VFW, organizers said.