Keep Abbeville Beautiful discusses litter with community

Friday marked the anniversary of Abbeville’s incorporation in 1850.
Unfortunately a good bit of trash has been thrown on the city’s streets during the course of 165 years.
More than two dozen people concerned about keeping Abbeville free of litter, as well as generally beautiful, well into the city’s future met Friday morning at city hall to discuss ways to make that happen.
Keep Abbeville Beautiful (KAB), a group formed in 2006 as an offshoot of Keep Louisiana Beautiful, welcomed guests from civic organizations, government entities and schools in and around Abbeville Friday in an effort to educate and involve community leaders in the fight against litter in Louisiana.
“We need a cultural change,” KAB’s Charlene Beckett told those in attendance. “The cultural change now is not to litter. It took a long time before we all started wearing seat belts. We also got tickets if we didn’t wear seat belts.
“That is our ultimate goal, in the long run, that everybody would get a ticket if they litter.”
KAB and its
members have made an impact. Sandra Creswell, the KAB chair, highlighted some of the accomplishments of the last nine years.
“We have organized committees for education and recycling,” Creswell said. “We have picked up more than 1,000 abandoned cars around the city. The latest is tree preservation.
“We work with the city crews on trimming trees.”
Beckett stressed that the efforts are extremely worthwhile, with effects going well beyond simply not having a trash on the ground.
“There’s been books written on this,” Beckett said. “It’s called the Broken Window Theory. If you have a building that looks abandoned and has broken windows and trash in front of it, that’s where crime happens. But if your community is clean and litter free, there are statistics that have proven that it really does reduce crime.
“This fits with our objectives and goals.”
One major objective is to get children involved, to teach at an early age the importance of beautification.
“We know that if we are going to change attitudes and mindsets,” Creswell said, “we have to work with the children. Hopefully we can instill in them litter prevention and recycling.”
Beckett thanked Vermilion Parish School Superintendent Jerome Puyau, who attended Friday morning’s meeting, for helping in this matter.
“We are thankful for being allowed to go into the schools and do programs,” Beckett said.
One of the programs available in the city is citizens being able to adopt a block to clean. Sandra Marant, who is in her early 70s, has done that, taking a portion of South State Street in downtown Abbeville. She is out picking up trash well before the sun comes up.
“I have been cleaning State Street for about three years now,” Marant said Friday morning, “and it is getting easier and easier. It’s actually catching hold. Unfortunately I don’t have anybody coming up to me to say they want to adopt a block.
“Fortunately my block is getting cleaner and cleaner.”
Marty Hebert, a Boy Scout leader with Troop 85, said the scouts clean up often along Old Kaplan Highway.
“I know it starts with education,” he said, “but what can be done in an area that takes a week or two to clean from having trash constantly pile up?
“We clean up trash that is directly under the sign that says $500 fine.”
Beckett said people caught littering and dumping trash can be turned in by calling 1-888-LITRBUG (1-888-548-7284). The service is through the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Abbeville Councilman Brady Broussard Jr. said Friday that he is pleased to see so many concerned with the issue.
“This is a proud day for the City of Abbeville,” Broussard said. “To have the Chamber (of Commerce), Herod Village, the school system, the scouts, our future, Harvest Time (Christian) Academy, the Garden Club, this is an important group of people and we cannot overstate that it starts with leadership.
“Together we can do some great things.”
Those who have come together to work with KAB have grown and continue to grow.
“We have 42 partnerships with different people or groups,” Creswell said. “It’s amazing when you consider that in 2006 we started with nobody.
“Involvement is the key.”