By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The dumpsters are filling up at Sunflower Diversified Services on east 10th Street in Great Bend. Two dozen Damn It, Do It volunteers helped with the city-wide cleanup in Great Bend, picking up various items for disposal at 25 residences around the city.
"We took everything from tires on rims, to appliances, to various household materials and mattresses - everything but hazardous chemicals," said Ryan Fairchild, who helped coordinate the volunteers. "You can take those on the third Saturday of the month from eight to noon, and they'll take them for free at the dump. We just did not have the ability to take those (Saturday)."
Fairchild, Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis, and the other volunteers split into three groups and enjoyed cooler temperatures Saturday morning as they went about the work, which wrapped up around noon.
"It was a lot of walking," Fairchild said. "I know my watch told me by 10 a.m. that I'd hit my walk goal for the day. We had Barton wrestlers out there, Methodist Church was out there helping, and just other various volunteers."
Damn It, Do It continues to work towards a better community with its volunteer action. Fairchild said it is important to remember that some need help when it comes to maintaining properties.
"People get this idea that people are letting things be dirty or messy because they don't care," he said. "It's not that they don't care. Sometimes somebody just doesn't have the ability to make some of these things happen, whether it be health-related or financial. If you're trying to catch up in life and working a bunch of jobs, sometimes things fall through the cracks.
"We understand that and want to help everybody live to their potential and help them get things cleaned up. When you help out your neighbors, it keeps things cleaned up. It makes everybody happy, puts everybody in a better mood, and just builds a better community."
The city-wide cleanup continues through Sunday with regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sunflower Diversified Services, 5605 10th Street in Great Bend. Saturday, Oct. 1 will be another big day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the cleanup ends Sunday with hours from 1-5 p.m.