Get online and vote for this year’s Barren Fork River Cleanup and McMinnville Mayor Jimmy Haley in the 2015 National River Cleanup Photo Contest.
The picture was taken by and submitted into the contest by Rachel Killebrew during the cleanup effort held by Breakfast Rotary Club and Friends of Our Rivers.
“I took tons of pictures of the cleanup,” said Killebrew. “For this picture, I was in a boat just right beside Jimmy. He was supposed to be in one of the other boats but the boat filled up with garbage so he jumped on the garbage raft and manned it. I thought this is too good and I snapped a picture of it. I love that picture of Jimmy. I think it’s great.”
Killebrew says Haley is a dedicated volunteer of the river cleanup effort.
“Jimmy always help with the cleanup and he stays until the last. After everybody gets in with their garbage and goes ‘I promise you that there is nothing left out there,’ Jimmy always goes out and comes back with a load full. He gets out and goes on the river bank and finds garbage where nobody else does. He and Ernie Campbell. They usually go last and get the most,” said Killebrew.
The photo contest is sponsored by American Rivers, an organization that protects rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves clean water for people and nature. Since 1973, American Rivers has protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and an annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers campaign.
National River Cleanup (NRC) is a key initiative for American Rivers. Since its inception in 1991, NRC has engaged more than 1.3 million volunteers who have participated in thousands of cleanups across the country, covering more than 252,694 miles of waterways and removing more than 25 million pounds of litter and debris. In 2015, NRC registered 1,370 cleanups at locations nationwide using 46,448 volunteers who removed 2 million pounds of trash.
The organization received 298 pictures from 30 river cleanup efforts across the nation for the 2015 contest. Of those, the photo submitted by Killebrew was selected to be a top 10 finalist. Now, it’s up to voters to decide the winning photo.
Voting is open until Feb. 5 by visiting https://secure.americanrivers.org/page/signup/vote-2015-national-river-cleanup-photo-contest. The winning photo will be announced shortly after on the American Rivers river blog.