The Omnibus

Issue date: 2/23/07 Section: News

Media Credit: AmyRose Tomlinson Sophomore Thomas Norton lends a hand by picking up tree branches from Dunnegan Park. The city of Bolivar offered Southwest Baptist University $10,000 in exchange for 2,000 hours of manpower to clean up what was left behind by the January ice storms. Though SBU did not fulfill the 2,000 hours, the University will be paid according to the hours worked.

Combine an endless supply of hot chocolate, granola bars, layers of warm clothing and a crazy group of servant-hearted students, faculty and staff, and get two cemeteries and one park completely free of ice storm debris.
The city of Bolivar offered Southwest Baptist's University Missions department $10,000, contributed by a local church, in exchange for 2,000 man-hours of ice storm destruction cleanup.
One hundred fourteen SBU students went to Greenwood Cemetery Thursday, Feb. 15 to clean up ice storm aftermath.
Once a beautiful area surrounded with towering trees, Greenwood had become what looked like a war zone, strewn with piles of branches and even entirely uprooted trees. Students were responsible for gathering branches and logs into piles in order to make their eventual removal simpler.
"I think it was really productive; everyone worked real hard," said senior Hector Valenzuela. "It seemed like we really made a dent getting that cleanup done,"
A great turnout of eager-to-serve students, hard work and a few chain-saw-happy men made for a quick cleanup of the cemetery, allowing the volunteers to move on to Dunnegan Cemetery by Saturday afternoon.
"Cleanup went fast, and no one got hurt," said Assistant Director of Missions Kelly Rehm. "It surprised everyone how efficient the students worked, and I was very proud of them. We got about 300 hours finished. A lot of students that did come came out many times, so it was not as wide of spread of effort as it could have been, but I was pleased with the turnout. Those that were there worked very hard ... there's a few students that went above and beyond."
Those who came to help with the cleanup came with great attitudes and a good work ethic, making the entire weekend not only a great success, but an enjoyable time of fellowship.
"I think there could have been more participation, but the ones that did show up were amazing," said Assistant Director of University Ministries Deanna Collins. "They worked very hard and accomplished all the goals that we had set ... and was fun! It was just work, we enjoyed each other."
Though the University did not complete the 2,000 hours required for donation, SBU will be paid according to the hours worked and the number of people that worked.

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