FRIENDS OF THE PARKS DAY WILL BE SATURDAY

Cape Girardeau's parks will be ready for spring and summer use after the Friends of the Parks Day Saturday.

The 14th annual clean-up event begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at Capaha Park.

Everyone who participates will receive a free sack lunch and T-shirt.

"Anything you would normally do in your own yard needs to be done in the parks," said Penny Blanford, recreation supervisor for the parks department.

Friends of the Park Day helps city workers finish projects like planting flowers, cleaning up trash and debris, painting and making repairs to playground equipment.

Work projects are planned at Capaha, Cherokee, Groves, Dennis Scivally, Indian, Cape Rock, Arena and Fountain parks as well as the Jaycees Municipal Golf Course.

With more than 23 parks, a golf course and three cemeteries, the city's outdoor maintenance covers 600 acres of land.

"Between all the parks and the signs, that's a lot of landscaping," Blanford said. "Eventually we'd get around to it, but this gives us a jump start."

Planting flowers and painting signs, though some of the most noticeable work, isn't the only job to be done Saturday. Baseball fields, volleyball courts, basketball courts and soccer fields also need routine maintenance.

At Arena Park most of the work involves raking baseball fields, cleaning out dugouts and picking up debris.

Volunteers, who often number 500 or more, also help clean out the Capaha swimming pool and prepare it for summer use.

Civic and church organizations and even entire families help with the cleanup. With so many volunteers, "you can get a lot accomplished," Blanford said.

"It's really nice that so many people take responsibility for the city parks."

Event sponsors are Schnucks, Pepsi, Zimmer Broadcasting, Chester Mortgage, Southeast Missouri Hospital, JCPenney, St. Francis Medical Center, Bank of Missouri, Union Planters Bank and Lowe's.