Annual Yakima River Clean Up This Weekend

October 9, 2003

ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- About 200 volunteers are expected to participate in the annual Yakima River Clean Up. The 31st annual event will be held Oct. 11.

Typically, more than 5,000 pounds of litter is removed from the Yakima River and adjacent areas during the event. The project, created by late Central Washington University administrator Don Wise, established a partnership between the university and Ellensburg community.

Event volunteers will gather at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Samuelson Union Building (SUB) parking lot on the Ellensburg campus. After a breakfast of doughnuts and coffee, volunteers will be organized into teams and then transported to sites along the Yakima River watershed.

Following a couple of hours of litter collection and removal, the event will conclude with a free barbecue on the SUB patio around noon. There will also be opportunities to win prizes donated from local businesses.

For more information, call (509) 963-1643, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143.