Beautify St. Joseph cleans up around Civic Arena

By Harry Loomis

On Saturday morning, a group of St. Joseph residents took the time to clean up downtown ahead of the Elite Eight.

Beautify St. Joseph schedules one meet-up to clean every month, but worked both Friday and Saturday. They spent Friday cleaning up along Frederick Boulevard, accumulating six 55-gallon trash bags of trash from 10th Street to Noyes Boulevard.

“We know how beautiful [Saint Joseph] is because we live here,” said Terry Turbak, chairperson for Beautify St. Joseph. “But we want visitors to feel like they want to come back, and the best thing we can do is clean it up and make it beautiful for them when they come and also for our residents.”

Turbak said the group has partnered with local organizations to help keep the city clean. She says they look to serve as an example for people in the community.

“We want to inspire other groups to say, ‘Hey, I can do that too,'” Turbak said. “It doesn’t take an organization. It takes two people and a bag and some time and that’s it. Everyone can make a difference from all the way from Don’t throw it down up to joining an organization or an event picking it up.”