RELEASED: August 28, 2001

Annual freshman cleanup project moves to Lake Herrington

DANVILLE, KY — Centre College's annual Freshman Service Project will take place at Herrington Lake Saturday, Sept. 1. This is the first year in a four-year project to clean the lake and its banks.

Nearly 300 volunteers are expected to attend. Centre's Class of 2005, Centre resident advisors, orientation leaders, and volunteer leaders, Centre faculty and staff, state and local agencies, and boaters are expected to participate from 9 a.m. to noon that day.

This year the project will focus on cleaning up the lake's baseline.

The project is in conjunction with the Boyle County Department of Solid Waste, headed by coordinator Donna Fechter.

"Our hope is to bring awareness about the importance of Herrington Lake as a source of drinking water, energy, wildlife, and recreation for Boyle County residents," Fechter said.

Centre has sponsored a Freshman Service Project as part of its new student orientation for nine years. For the first four years Centre freshmen cleaned up Clark's Run in Danville; their efforts resulted in a national environmental award sponsored by Sea World. The past four years Centre freshmen worked at Perryville. The students cleaned up an illegal dump in the Chaplin River, took down a shed across from the old mill on Highway 68, and helped sort tires at the Perryville convenience center so that the rubber could be recycled.

Volunteering is nothing new at Centre College, where nearly 70 percent of students are involved in at least one service project a year.

"Our students have always shown an interest in giving back to the community," said Ann Young, director of volunteer services at Centre, of the freshman tradition. "And it gives them a chance to meet other freshman while working together as a group in a positive manner."

For more information, contact Young at 238-5480 or the Boyle County Solid Waste Department at 238-1116.

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