Street clean-up event in Apache Junction included rock painting

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

Cigarette butts, plastic fast-food cups and other litter strewn along Baseline Road in Apache Junction, just east of Ironwood, were recently scooped up by hand or with a trash-picker tool and bagged by volunteers to be deposited at the landfill as part of a nonprofit’s Community Action Day.

“So many cigarettes on the ground. So many,” Apache Junction resident John Schmitz said.

“We turned in a bag of garbage already,” his mother, Carrie Schmitz, said early during the 8 a.m.-noon Jan. 17 event.

Gilbert resident Heidi Hills said a friend suggested she participate in the cleanup.

“My friend invited me and I said yes... (I am) just somebody who came out and cares about community,” she said. “Today pulling out the different types of trash. There were car mats, lots of cups — fast-food cups, things like that. I’m picking things up and putting them in a bag.”

Rudy Esquivias, development services director for the city of Apache Junction, volunteered picking up litter.

“It’s just a good chance for people to get together and get to know each other and feel like they are doing some good... Just a civic pride kind of thing,” he said.

Frank Rodriguez, a senior plans examiner in development services for the city of Apache Junction, also volunteered.

“We’re just doing a community cleanup. They provided the trash bags and the gloves and the pickup bars,” he said.

Volunteers at six Apache Junction locations cleaned streets, painted rocks or helped residents dispose of waste in dumpsters at the event hosted by the Apache Junction Community Development Corp. in partnership with the city of Apache Junction and Republic Services.

The work, designed to help beautify Apache Junction, used to be held in October as Make a Difference Day.

“We call it Community Action Day because historically the day was in October when it was too hot... (and) it’s 100-and-something degrees, so we did this instead,” said Thomas Kelly, vice chair of the Apache Junction Community Development Corporation, during the street cleanup.

Rocks could be painted on tables at Flatiron Park, 100 N. Apache Trail, as part of the volunteer effort.

The rock painting was added to the annual event so children could participate, said Robin Barker, a volunteer with the Apache Junction Community Development Corporation.

“Some of the things, like picking up trash on a busy road, that’s not a place for children to be. So this is something children can do,” she said.

Painted rocks were to be left at the park, said Apache Junction resident Heidi Young, who coordinated the activity.

“So they go back into the rock garden right behind us back there. So we just place them. We’ve got a lot of rocks over there already from previous events,” she said. “It just brings art to people’s lives. Sometimes they have scenes on them. Something pretty to have and to share.”

Apache Junction resident Alicia Groneberg painted a cactus on a rock “just to participate in the Community Action Day,” she said. “The Arizona sunset.”

Apache Junction resident Judy Ponio helped others paint but also designed one.

“I’m here volunteering. They inspired me to paint a rock,” she said. “Some people, children, need to know that there is more than their phone to look at, to be able to leave something — paint a rock here and then leave one. They can come back and see the rocks.”

Her painted rock had a pink ribbon showing breast cancer awareness.

“Recently had a lumpectomy, so getting over that and acknowledging that it’s going to be gone from me,” Ponio said. “I’m going to leave it here. I’m going to put my date on the back of it — the date I had the surgery. So I’m leaving it because it’s never coming back.”

Dumpsters were set out for neighborhood clean-ups at:

• 108 S. Ocotillo Drive and West First Avenue
• 1890 S. Plaza Drive at Love Gospel Church parking lot
• South Cedar Drive and West 12th Avenue
• North Pinyon Drive and West Cactus Wren Street

“It helps alleviate some of the code-compliance issues, getting rid of debris and old mattresses and stuff. We’re bringing the dumpster to them so they don’t have to travel too far,” said Shawn Brown, code compliance manager for the city of Apache Junction.

Volunteers were treated to doughnuts, muffins and coffee during the street cleanup, and were to be given a free lunch later thanks to donations from community sponsors, he said.

Sponsors included Starbucks, Fresh Press, Walmart, Blue Bell Creameries, Dutch Bros, JustServe, Apache Junction Community Development Corporation, the city of Apache Junction and Republic Services, he said.

To volunteer for upcoming events, go to https://apachejunctioncdc.com/index.php/events.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.