Clean-up efforts bolster downtown

PHOTO BY FRED CUMMINGS A number of community members joined to clean up the area around the Lampasas County Courthouse in conjunction with citywide Clean Sweep Week efforts last weekend. See related photos, page 10A.

A workforce of over 30 volunteers -- among them a bank president, county judge, mayor and sheriff-elect -- gathered on Courtyard Square last weekend with shovels, rakes and hedge clippers to begin the job of trimming back overgrown shrubs and bushes around the courthouse parking lot.

The group, working in conjunction with city of Lampasas' annual April Clean Sweep Week efforts, labored for more than four hours. A large amount of clippings and debris were then disposed of by city staff.

"It is hard to recall the last time this was done," said Jeff Jackson, chairman of the Vision Downtown Lampasas! Design Beautification Committee.

"We skipped a few years, and the amount of trimming was excessive. There's still more work to do, but we accomplished our goal."

Jackson thanked volunteers who showed up to work. The group included Courtyard Square business owners, Vision Downtown Lampasas! committee members, Design Beautification Committee, Troop 200 Boy Scouts and other community members.

"The public square is the central business district and the center of county government, and at times is an open-air convention center for the community," said Jackson. "It serves a broad section of the community in numerous ways."

Volunteers gave over 120 hours of work to the community. "And it did not cost the taxpayers one cent in tax money," the committee chairman added. "The result was worth a lot more, and the overall appearance of the downtown area is much better."