By Megan Holmes
news@americanpress.com

Lake Charles Civic Center

Courtesy of Google Maps

Cleanup after a parade can be hard work. But Ronald “Buddy” Young, a supervisor with the city’s Public Works Department, said crews work swiftly and methodically to get it done.

Young said workers first blow trash and debris from sidewalks into the roadway, where street sweepers — three were used Wednesday — remove it while the Marshal’s Office keeps the streets free of traffic.

At the same time, he said, other workers empty litter receptacles and pick up trash from the boardwalk and Civic Center grounds. He said the cleanup takes multiple hours — all of it outside the normal work schedule — but is essential.

“It’s important that we remove the trash immediately, because otherwise the candy wrappers, bottles, cans and beads would eventually find their way into our catch basins and end up blocking the underground drainage system,” Young said Thursday.

“Our crews last night worked after the parade and then they came back again at 6:45 a.m. The Civic Center grounds, parade route and beach area were all cleaned by 9 a.m.”

The street sweepers picked up 7 cubic yards of debris, and workers collected dozens of bags of trash at the Civic Center, he said. The full crew numbered 14, Young said.

Mayor Nic Hunter said the city has some of the “hardestworking employees” he has ever seen.

“The process happens like clockwork every year, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy work,” Hunter said.

“Quite the contrary. Our departments work seamlessly to put on these events for the community, and then they work even harder to clean up the event spaces, so that we can continue enjoying a beautiful city.”

‘The process happens like clockwork every year, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy work.’

Mayor Nic Hunter