A group of concerned residents headed by Bodden Town MLA Osbourne Bodden plans to clean the district beaches extending from Frank Sound in the east to Manse Road in the west.
The beach is filthy from washed up refuse and has been a sore point for a long time with tourists and residents.
Mr. Bodden has been contacted many times in the regard and most recently by Nolan Stewart, who runs Coral Stone Stables and offers horse rides on the beach.
He said his clients were complaining and he was willing to assist with the cleaning.
Next came a call from Mr. William Peguero of the Frank Sound Church of God, who said he had a number of young people that wanted to do some community work to raise funds and didn’t want to do the traditional stuff like walkathons etc. They would like to do some cleaning and this tied in nicely with what was discussed with Mr. Stewart to get the beaches cleaned.
Shortly after this Mr. Bodden was contacted by Mr. Stanley Panton of Platinum Collections, who has been assisting with clean ups in the North Side district, with his dumpsters that he delivers and collects when full and also offers grab truck services. This again was a welcomed call and the plan was taking shape. Mr. Bodden then contacted Ms Heather Bodden, chair of the national beautification committee, and discussed his plans and she was quite happy to assist in her role with resources at her disposal.
Other members of the community who have been involved in cleaning the district were also contacted such as Mr. Joe Caputo (with his beach cleaner) and Ms Marleine Gaignon, chair of the Bodden Town action committee. A meeting was held recently at the Turtle Nest Inn in Bodden town and plans were formulated to get this done, starting as early as this weekend, weather permitting.
The plan is to start with the youth group and extend a welcome to all Bodden Town residents to assist. This, it is hoped, will become a regular exercise because the beaches get dirty quite quickly and hence a monthly cleanup may become necessary.
The RCP unit of government, under the management of Jonathon Ebanks, has also pledged its support in this venture and many other people and agencies in the community will be called on (including the DEH) to assist.
The beaches will be cleaned up to the high water mark but the group will not be cleaning personal property – this is the obligation of the owners and it is hoped that this initiative will lead others to take more pride in doing this.
MLA Bodden says, ‘This is a chance for the Bodden town community to come together and make a positive difference. If we are serious about our Go East initiative, then we have to show people that we take pride in our environment and our district. Everyone is invited to participate by contacting any of the principal persons of the group as mentioned.’
This Saturday’s effort will commence at 7am at the Bodden Town Cemetery and the group will work in a westerly direction. The next dates for this initial cleaning will be on Saturday, 22 November, and 6 December. It is hoped that this will complete the first round of all beaches being cleaned. After that the situation will be assessed and cleanings will be organised as deemed necessary.
Mr. Bodden says, ‘This is a good way for the community and our young people to get involved and we hope to make it fun for all and maybe even create a reward system going forward. We are also encouraging residents to make use of the dumpsters’ availability and dump their bulk items in, so that the overall district can become cleaner.’
If there is an item too large, then Mr. Bodden, Mr. Panton or Ms Bodden can be contacted and grab truck services will be provided.
Related Videos
