Watford City Hgh School Plans Community Cleanup

On May 8, Watford City High School students will descend on the community for their fourth bi-annual cleanup day.

Austin Bolton, Watford City High School social studies teacher, community cleanup director and student council advisor, heads the event, and the student council takes care of reaching out to community members, businesses, and staff members to build their project list for the cleanup days. The cleanup is the students 'way of saying thank you to a community that gives so much to their students and school.

Watford City area community members and businesses can also apply to have projects completed by the students through an application process available on the school website, the deadline for which was April 30. Students have washed windows, cleaned out barns, painted houses, and landscaped for elderly community members, those under lift restrictions, or simply overwhelmed and needing an extra couple hands for their project.

Bolton was inspired to style their community cleanup after the Twin Lakes school system's similar program. Originally from the Chicago area of Illinois, he attended University of Mary and played football for the Mary Marauders. He has been impressed by the school and community facilities in Watford City, calling them "some of the best he's ever seen."

He plans on breaking the students into 25 or more groups of 15 to work on separate projects. Some will be projects started last fall but unfinished, and others will be cleaning up the parks and recreation areas in and around Watford City. Certain areas of town where trash has accumulated noticeably will receive attention as well.

If interested in applying to be part of the fall cleanup, the application form can be found on the school website, http://www.watford-city.k12.nd.us, or will be posted on the McKenzie County Public School District #1 Facebook page.