The Pine Bluff Police Department is hosting a city cleanup event beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2.
Volunteers are asked to join PBPD personnel at the Family Church, 2309 S. Poplar, for a short briefing before the cleanup begins.
“If you volunteer, please bring trash bags, weed trimmers, rakes, etc.,” said John Worthen, PBPD’s public information coordinator. “We could really use your help.”
Volunteers will have access to free water and snacks throughout the event, which ends at 11:30 a.m.The cleanup zone stretches from Poplar to South Olive Street, running between 17thand 24th avenues.
It’s part of an ongoing initiative to make the city a safer, cleaner place to live, according to Pine Bluff Police Chief Shirley Warrior.
Previously, officers have canvased this area, knocking on doors and taking note of residents’ concerns as part of the Group Violence Intervention’s G-40 Initiative.
“The goal is to take our streets back 40 blocks at a time from gun violence,” said GVI Director Kevin Crumpton. “We want to feel safe. This is our neighborhood and we are taking it back!”
adding that the event is about changing culture and celebrating good things instead of crime, violence, hatred of the police and refusal to accept personal responsibility.
Residents of this and other areas of the city are urged to follow these suggestions to help keep their neighborhoods safe:
“Most important of all: If you see something, say something,” Worthen said. “Don’t be quiet any longer. Let the PBPD know so we can take care of it and stop criminal activity.”
