CAIRO SET FOR RIVER CLEANUP

CAIRO, Ill. -- More than 300 people gathered at St. Mary's Park in Cairo, paraded a few miles to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and went to work clearing logs, cutting weeds and brush from Fort Defiance Park.

The park had been scheduled to close, but a group of bankers, businessmen and workers from Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri helped save the park. Now it is a site for visitors to view the where two of the nation's largest rivers meet.

Fort Defiance is ready for another cleanup to begin at 8 a.m. June 20.

"It's that time of year for the annual Ohio River Valley Sweep," said Carolyn Mayberry of Cairo. "We need volunteers for our part of the annual cleanup."

More than 2,700 miles of shoreline from Pennsylvania to Illinois, along the Ohio River, Allegheny, Monongahela, Beaver and Kentucky rivers will be cleaned.

The one-day Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) is coordinating the cleanup. Because so many states are involved in the project, there will be cleanup coordinators along the route, said ORSANCO sweep director Jennie Ison.

The goal of sweep coordinators is to have at least one gathering spot and dropoff point for each of the 72 counties that border the Ohio, said Ison.

"We won't get all the trash in one day, we know," said Ison. "But people feel good about what they do. The annual promotion makes us all conscious of the importance of the Ohio River in terms of recreation and water supply."

Mayberry is the Cairo coordinator for the second year.

"Certain sites along the Ohio shoreline have been targeted for cleanup," said Mayberry. "We'll be concentrating our efforts here on Fort Defiance Park and an area between Fourth and Eighth streets in Cairo."

Last year more than 20 people participated in the Cairo cleanup.

In 1997, more than 22,000 volunteers participated in the one-day sweep, collecting more than 11,000 tons of trash, said Ison.

"Many industries are joining the effort by cleaning their own property and shoreline," she said.

Collection sites for the trash will be located at various points along the river.

Ison was among a group that toured sections of the river last week.

"A lot of debris was observed," said Ison. "But the size of the debris appeared less than that of the 1997 sweep. A year ago, we observed everything from camper trailers to sections of houses. This year, most of the debris was smaller."

Volunteers will find plenty of litter awaiting them when they kick off the annual Ohio River Sweep, said Bob Owen, of corporate community relations for Ashland Inc.

Some recent flooding along the Ohio has left plenty of debris.

The annual sweep started in 1989, with volunteers turning out to pick up trash at some of the more littered spots between Ashland and Cincinnati in Ohio.

It has since grown to cover both Ohio River shorelines along the entire 981-mile length of the Ohio from Cairo to near Pittsburgh. Many of the river's feeder streams also are included.

Volunteer teams and county coordinators have been planning the annual trash cleanup for the past few weeks. All participants receive a T-shirt.

People interested in helping with the cleanup can call (618) 734-1100, or just show up at one of the two sites -- Fort Defiance Park or Fourth Street.

Other Southern Illinois volunteers are ready along the river at Mound City, Olmsted, Brookport and Metropolis.