By LEONARD GRAY

DES ALLEMANDS – Volunteers poured out in quantity, and the annual St. Charles Parish Clean-Up Day, in conjunction with the fifth annual Tire Bash, both held Saturday, accounted for a widespread cleaning of several area roads.

The events, held May 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Des Allemands Ball Park on WPA Road, near the American Legion Hall, for the Tire Bash, and 8 a.m. to noon for the general clean-up of the entire parish.

The Tire Bash is co-sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Swamp Eyes and St. Charles Parish.

During the four-hour event, parish residents hauled 185 old tires to the ball park for proper disposal. The idea is, according to Pat Elfer of Swamp Eyes, is getting rid of old tires to cut down on mosquito habitats and make for a more attractive parish, as tire dumps are ugly and are a fire hazard.

The event, which has been held in the past in a more central part of St. Charles Parish, was held this time in Des Allemands to enable those living in Des Allemands, Bayou Gauche and Paradis more convenient access to the pickup sites.

The St. Charles Parish Clean-Up Day asked local residents to clean up roadsides, plant trees, clean public docks, remove graffitti, clean up parks and plant gardens.

According to Steve Sirmon of Parish President Albert Laque’s office, 105 volunteers, joined by inmates of the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center, accounted for 687 bags of trash, which translated into 6.87 tons of roadside debris. Tires recovered by the groups went to the Tire Bash.

Several schools, civic groups and other organizations assisted in the May 11 cleanup, including: START, Harry Hurst Middle School Beta Club, Destrehan High School Junior ROTC, Boy Scout Troop 371, Norco 4-6 lementary School’s Student Council, 4-H Club and Beta Club, St. Charles Parish Library, Norco Lions Club, Sacred Heart Youth Center, Crompton Corp., Bell Baptist Church, Holy Family Catholic Church, Bunge Corp., Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish, Barton Avenue Church of Christ, the homeschoolers 4-H Club and OxyChem.

East Bank groups picked up 428 bags, while West Bank groups added 259 bags of roadside trash.

The St. Charles Parish Clean-Up Day is part of the Great American Clean-up, led nationally by Keep America Beautiful Inc.

Last year, more than two million volunteers from around the country took part in the cleanup during the March 15-May 30 period.