Governor Huckabee's Radio Address: Great Arkansas Cleanup

Governor Huckabee's
Radio Address
May 31, 2003

Subj: Great Arkansas Cleanup

Hello, this is Governor Mike Huckabee with this week's comment from my corner of the Capitol.

Each September and October in our state, more than 15,000 volunteers participate in the Great Arkansas Cleanup. They pick up litter along lakes, streams, parks and roadways. More than 30,000 bags of litter are gathered each fall during the cleanup. For 33 years, we've done this in Arkansas. The campaign is directed by the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission in coordination with the state Highway and Transportation Department. The Great Arkansas Cleanup began in 1969 as the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup. Congress approved legislation in 1985 requiring an annual cleanup event on all federal lands the weekend after Labor Day. The federal law is known as the Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Act in honor of the founder of the Greers Ferry event.

I recently had the pleasure of presenting the awards at the annual Keep Arkansas Beautiful statewide awards luncheon. I don't have enough time to tell you about all of the winners, but let me give you a few examples. The Fort Smith Solid Waste Task Force set out to tackle that city's litter problem with an anti-litter campaign that involved law enforcement and sanitation personnel. Litter kits were distributed, and dozens of participating organizations took part in a citywide cleanup in conjunction with last fall's Great Arkansas Cleanup. In Osceola, meanwhile, Nucor-Yamato Steel celebrated Earth Day with a cleanup effort involving 70 volunteers who removed 200 bags of litter from Osceola's streets and public areas. In partnership with Broadway Community Services, the company also conducted a three-day environmental science camp to teach children the importance of recycling. Another winner was the Clear Spring School at Eureka Springs. For two decades, the annual Clear Spring Trashathon has been a Carroll County staple. The more than 300 bags of trash collected last year earned the school financial support through local sponsors' pledges. In Jefferson County, the state's only government-owned tire-shredding facility is operated by Jefferson County Recycling, which was another award winner. They've recycled more than 85,000 tires and more than 450,000 pounds of newspapers from local schools. Yet another winner was Sulphur Rock High School. Students at the Independence County school planned and conducted a citywide recycling education forum last year to encourage residents to reduce waste disposal costs through increased recycling. Next door in Sharp County, an organization known as Keep Cherokee Village Beautiful has a waste reduction effort that involves collecting, sorting and recycling cans, glass, paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard. There were 2,240 hours of volunteer service donated to the organization last year.

These are just a sampling of the many organizations across our state that are working to make Arkansas a cleaner place to live. Litter is a drain on a state budget that already is strained to the limit. Each year, the Highway and Transportation Department devotes almost 5,000 man-hours and spends more than $2 million collecting 20,000 cubic yards of trash. Far more important than the cost factor, however, is the quality of life factor. We call ourselves the Natural State for a reason. Every Arkansan has a stake in maintaining and enhancing our natural beauty. In my almost seven years as governor, I've spent a lot of time recruiting businesses to come to the state. And I can tell you one of the first things business executives consider is the overall quality of life in an area. The cleanliness of an area plays into those decisions. So does the opportunity for quality outdoor recreation. Executives want a nice place to live for employees and their families. I honestly believe one of the most important things we've ever done as a state was the passage of a constitutional amendment in November 1996 that devotes the proceeds from a one-eighth of a cent sales tax to keeping the Natural State natural. The state Department of Parks and Tourism, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission have been investing the proceeds from this tax wisely. We've indeed improved our quality of life. I can say without hesitation that it's now easier to recruit businesses to Arkansas than it was six years ago.

Along with the efforts of these state agencies, there are the federal grants we've received and the efforts of countless private organizations. For instance, the federal Environmental Protection Agency last year awarded a $265,000 grant to Audubon Arkansas to begin a project to restore the habitat of the Fourche Creek bottomlands in Little Rock. It's the largest urban watershed rehabilitation project ever undertaken in the state. Projects such as these will make this an even better place for those of us who already call Arkansas home while at the same time making us more attractive for businesses seeking a new home.

Until next week, this is Gov. Mike Huckabee.