Angie Pages, left, National Junior Honor Society sponsor at Jane A. Hambric School, points to a drop-off location while, from left to right, Rene Silva, 12, Derek Hernandez, 12, Andrew Romo, 13, and Nick Diaz de Leon, 12, carry bags of trash collected from the roadside. Members of Hambric’s Student Council and NJHS, and Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 37 picked up trash along a two-mile stretch of Montana Avenue Saturday as part of the school’s involvement in Adopt-a-Highway. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
Soldiers support students’ clean-up efforts
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 362nd Regiment, 5th Armored Brigade, provided support Saturday to a group of about 60 students and Scouts as they worked to make El Paso a cleaner place.
Members of the Jane A. Hambric School Student Council and National Junior Honor Society, and Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 37 took time out this weekend to pick up trash along the two-mile stretch of Montana Avenue the school adopted as part of the Adopt-a-Highway program.
From left to right, David Garciaduenas, 14, Sarah Frances Loera, 13, and Katie Marquez, 12, deliver bags of trash to a collection point Saturday. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
Lt. Col. George Whitmire, 1-362nd Regt. commander, said six combat lifesaver-qualified Soldiers from his unit volunteered to provide first aid support, hand out water and help collect bagged trash that was too heavy for the young volunteers to move to collection points along Montana Avenue.
“We’re out here helping Hambric, our Partners in Education school, doing Adopt-a-Highway,” Whitmire said. “They’ve got about two miles going west and two miles coming east that they’re cleaning.
“The reason we do this is that these are the future leaders, all these little children out there,” he added. “What we do, from the military side of the house, lets them see that they can carry this hard work and dedication over into their next careers, as adults. Hopefully, we’re giving a little bit of help and encouragement to these young people.”
The young volunteers used that encouragement to fill dozens of bags of trash and move tires and other items – including a kiddie pool – to the collection points along the highway, leaving Montana Avenue a great deal cleaner than it was when they started. One student, Candace Roman, 13, even found a wallet. Another student found a dollar.
While most of the volunteers didn’t make surprising discoveries, they did find they enjoyed helping the community and the environment.
“I came out to help El Paso clean up,” said Nick Diaz de Leon, 12. “I think it’s important, because people trash El Paso every day, and then they don’t know why it’s so dirty, and don’t know what it’s like to clean it up.”
Diaz de Leon, a member of Hambric’s Student Council, said he hopes people will think before they throw trash out the windows on their automobiles.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Walker of 1st Battalion, 362nd Regiment, 5th Armored Brigade, distributes water to Andrew Romo, 13, left, and Nick Diaz de Leon, 12, as they take a break from their clean-up efforts Saturday. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
“It’s hard to clean up,” he said.
Jorge Zamora, 14, said people can get involved and make a difference by getting out and helping clean up El Paso.
“I came out today to make a difference for our school and to prove that people really can make a difference just by cleaning up a two-mile strip of highway,” the NJHS member said. “There are people who can make a difference by just coming out here for a few hours and cleaning up.”
Sarah Frances Loera, 13, a member of Hambric’s NJHS, agreed.
“I wanted to help clean up the highway and make it a better place and make a difference for the earth,” she said. “It’s very important to get out and get involved because if nobody did, then we’d all be covered in trash.”
Chris Bonneau, 16, Boy Scout Troop 37 senior patrol leader, said the troop took on the Adopt-a-Highway task because service to the community is one of the guiding principles of Scouting.
“What we live for and what we do is help the community and give back to the community as much as we can, so that’s what were doing here,” he said. “Since were sponsored by the school, we teamed up with them to help clean up this area.
“It’s important to get involved, because it gives back to the community and you feel good about yourself when you give back,” Bonneau added.
He said he was surprised by how much trash had accumulated on the roadside the volunteers cleaned.
Chris Bonneau, 16, Boy Scout Troop 37 senior patrol leader, left, and William Kincaid, 14, a Scout in Troop 37, pick up trash in the median between the east- and westbound lanes of Montana Avenue Saturday. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
“I had never noticed how dirty it is,” Bonneau continued. “When you’re driving by, you don’t see that even one little cigarette thrown out the window can make a difference, but when you come out here and start walking it, and you start picking it up and at the end you have a big bag full of trash, it’s surprising.”
Jesus Beltran, Boy Scout Troop 37 Scoutmaster, said he was pleased with the event’s turnout.
“Most of our troop was here, and I am absolutely proud of them and the fact that they came out here and gave their time on a Saturday.”
Angie Pages, sponsor of the NJHS at Hambric, said the school’s involvement in Adopt-a-Highway stems from one student’s idea of how to make a difference.
Pages said the students took part in the cleanup because they wanted to help their community.
“Sixty students is a great turnout, especially on a Saturday,” she continued. “We’re really happy with the turnout. It’s great to see young people doing something to give back, and realizing that what we do here does make a difference. I’m so proud of the group, and so proud to be part of Hambric. It’s such a great family to be part of – we come together as a team.”