Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It’s been three months since Hurricane Helene blew across Northeast Tennessee and Western North Carolina, leaving a path of destruction. The trail of destruction left behind includes downed trees and branches in waterways, as well as other debris. In one pile of debris on the banks of the Doe River near the walking trail at the Doe River Bridge was a massive amount of twigs and limbs, a chair, and a mailbox. There are piles of debris like this all along the river, as well as deposits in the rivers, especially among the rocks.

The Edwards Island Park, located below the Elk Avenue Bridge, contains fallen trees and shoreline debris. In addition to trees, there is sediment and various other materials throughout the waterways left by Helene when it hit in September.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency awarded a contract to remove floor-related debris from rivers and lakes in Northeast Tennessee from Johnson County waterway, Watauga Lake and its tributaries, the French Broad River and Pigeon River in Cocke County, and the Nolichucky River in Greene, Unicoi, and Washington counties.

TEMA stated in a news release that Phillips & Jordan, Inc. had been selected as the main vendor to extract debris from the waterways. It will be no small task and will take time.

The debris accumulated across the rivers and streams and on nearby adjacent land by Hurricane Helene threatens the local ecosystems, increases the risk of further flooding, and hampers the use of water resources for communities and businesses.

With warm weather coming, a concentrated effort needs to be made to clean up our rivers and streams, as well as local parks, which are a source of recreational activity, among which are fishing, picnicking, and sports.

Let’s not leave the cleanup efforts to just one group. We challenge civic and community groups to get involved in cleaning up the debris. Perhaps a couple of Saturdays could be designated for Hurricane Helene cleanup days at local parks.

This week, the River Riders, with the aid of Boyd Sports, the Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department, and a myriad of local businesses, began the restoration of Cat Island Park Baseball and Softball Fields. This project is to not only restore the fields but also upgrade them after the significant damage done by the floodwaters.

Elizabethton River Riders Manager General Manager Kiva Fuller said, “There are over 600 children in the Elizabethton/Carter County Baseball Association. There is no way that many players could compete this year if the Cat Island fields were not playable. Boyd Sports is pleased to take part in this community project. The job is not done, as we want to have everything ready to go by opening day for the league.”

The renovation included removing destroyed fences, debris, and excess silt left by the flood. Dirt was leveled on the playing surfaces, as was measuring and realigning baselines and replacing bases. Local businesses helped with the effort by securing needed heavy equipment, fencing, seed for the outfields, paint for the dugouts and concession stand, and a scoreboard.

That was just work on the baseball field; the rest of the park needs work, too.

We hope our community will step up to clean our parks and get them ready for the spring and summer season. It will be no easy task, but together, it can be done. We have confidence that local civic, school, and church groups, along with businesses, will meet the challenge.