Riverbed cleanup volunteers motivated by community pride

By SCOTT AUST / Greater Garden City

While April 22 is celebrated as Earth Day – marked by cleanups, education, and a variety of efforts to support the environment – a recent local effort to clean up the Arkansas Riverbed was largely motivated by community pride.

Earlier this month, Lance Rupp organized a two-day cleanup involving about 15 residents of Sagebrush Estates in Garden City who brought equipment and volunteered time to pick up trash along the river and ditches between Wilderness Road and the Main Street Bridge.

Rupp emailed residents of Sagebrush Estates on a Friday afternoon and by 4 p.m. had enough commitment to do the cleanup on Saturday. However, strong winds and dust on that Saturday gave Rupp pause and he sent out another email suggesting postponement. But three people with equipment showed up and wanted to do the cleanup despite the weather conditions.

“I’m smart enough to know that if you have competent help with equipment who want to work, you don’t turn them down,” Rupp said.

Trash dumping in the riverbed has been an ongoing problem for years. People have dumped tires, trash, landscaping brush, firewood, tents, wood pallets, couches, tables, chairs, mattresses and even an abandoned boat last summer.

An additional issue since last fall has been homeless encampments which volunteers also cleared away. Local officials organized an assistance effort for the unhoused which has helped them find housing and jobs but the camps themselves needed to be cleaned up.

One of the issues Rupp encountered during the cleanup was a huge number of used syringes in one tent. Rupp said his understanding is the efforts of Finney County Commissioner Vicki Germann and local charitable organizations were successful in getting that person the help they needed.

Germann and other community members formed a group called UNCLE (Unmet Needs Local Community Empowerment) late last year in response to complaints raised about people living in the camps. UNCLE operates under the general idea of responding when new community issues arise that require a coordinated response.

Earlier this year, a proposed bill, HB 2495, went to the state legislature that would have authorized counties to regulate activities on or within navigable rivers and added navigable rivers to criminal trespass laws. The bill faced heavy opposition and didn’t make it out of committee.

Germann said the proposed legislation was largely misconstrued as trying to outlaw homelessness.

“That wasn’t it at all,” Germann said.

Since then, Germann continues to try to find solutions. For example, Germann said Catholic Charities created a reporting campaign through Facebook asking the public to contact them if they see someone who needs assistance; not to demonize them, but so those persons can be contacted, talked to about their needs, and direction provided to appropriate community services.

Germann said at least 12 different groups of people had been living along the riverbed who have been rehoused or been helped in some way.

“We are on a path forward to work together,” she said.

Rupp agreed that people who are homeless should be treated in a humanitarian way.

“I kind of admire them for trying to be that independent, but the biggest problem was the trash. Having a tent doesn’t bother me, it’s the trash that bothered people,” he said.

Rupp said for some, living in a camp along the river appeared to be a lifestyle choice. Most were thankful for the help, including one man who said he appreciated the assistance noting that he nearly froze to death the previous winter.

Trying to solve trash dumping is an ongoing process, Germann said. She mentioned some of the ideas in general have suggested implementing a reporting system, installing cameras, or maybe a public information campaign aimed at raising awareness but nothing specific has come forward.

For Germann, it’s a balancing act of addressing concerns of nearby property owners and people who need help.

“I got involved because I was getting a lot of complaint calls from citizens, that there were people camped down there, and they were concerned about unsanitary conditions and structures being built,” Germann said.

Rupp, a Sagebrush resident for 28 years, said he has been involved in cleanup activities along the riverbed every other year. The thing that’s frustrating for Rupp is people still dump trash even though Garden City has a free citywide cleanup every year. Why dump your trash when the city will come pick it up, he asked.

Rupp said he didn’t advertise this month’s cleanup though he has in the past, drawing help from organizations such as Real Men Real Leaders and the Garden City Community College football team, as well as several individuals who showed up because they care about the community.

“I do it because I have pride in my community. I drive by it every day going home. I think that’s why a bunch of other people got involved,” Rupp said.

Rupp wanted to specifically thank Darin Miller, Mark Sexson, Mikey Goddard, and Roger Unruh for bringing equipment this time around. He also thanked American Implement and Larry Brungardt with Finney County Public Works for being very responsive with very short notice.