By PHOEBE DONALD ROBINSON / Community Columnist

The Lay Lake cleanup is celebrating its 15th anniversary April 13-19 sponsored by the Lake Lay Home Owners and Boat Owners Organization and Alabama Power.

Mike Clelland, Alabama Power stewardship coordinator, and HOBO Clean up Chair Judy Jones are coordinating the event. Jones has been the chairperson for all the 15 years.

“I live on the lake and have a passion to keep it clean,” said Jones. “I worked with a woman from Central America who told me that she could walk across a lake in her hometown now from all the trash. That was the impetus all those years ago and motivates me today. I have a true passion to do this and want to keep our lake clean. Last year we picked up 9.33 tons of trash. We have picked up sofas, refrigerators, TV, old boats and docks. Shelby County and the waste companies are so helpful.”

Trash bags donated by Alabama Power can be picked up at the following marinas which also have dumpsters for collection: Beeswax Park, Shelby Shores, Okomo, Lay Port, Bozo’s, LaCoosa, Paradise Point on Shelby County side and Sunset, Lay Estate and Heaslett’s on Talladega’s side of Lay Lake. Trash bags can also be picked up at The Landing on Hwy 47, Wilsonville Feed Store on Alabama 25, Paul’s BP and Beeswax Gas Station.

Volunteers who sight big items need to contact Jones at 669-4865 or jonesfl@bellsouth.net. A barge is used to remove large man-made items from the lake on one specific day during the week. At the end of the week, each dumpster will be weighed without trash and then with trash for HOBO to determine how many tons of trash are removed from Lay Lake this spring.

Clean up week will culminate with the annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at noon at Beeswax Park off Shelby County 145. Alabama Power designed the logo for the 15th anniversary and is providing free T-shirts for all volunteers. Volunteers will picnic on donated Zeigler hot dogs, buns and potato chips, cooked and served by The Baptist Church at Lay Lake.