6th Annual Coastal Clean-up Day
C2Lt Murphy helps with clean-up. SM Tam (L) & LtCol McDowell (R) in background
Community Service Trip Report
At 0745 hours, Saturday, 26 April 2008, the following personnel reported for transportation to help clean up San Diego Bay during the 6th Annual Coastal Clean-Up Day sponsored by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors:
Cadets
C/2Lt Chandra Murphy
Cadet Louis Diaz
Cadet Reece Coulter
Cadet Sean Coulter
Cadet Caleb Duescher
Cadet Nathan Duescher
Cadet Andrew Elsken
Senior Members
LtCol Elbert McDowell
Capt David Saavedra
SM Michael Tam
Cadet Sponsor Connie Duescher
At 0835 hours all personnel arrived at Chollas Creek, clean up site and were checked in by the event coordinator.
A safety brief began right away by National Steel and Shipbuilding Industrial Safety Engineer, Mr. Bart Deem, regarding how to handle unsafe materials encountered in the creek, when to alert designated individuals in the handling of hazardous materials if discovered, wear plenty of sun screen, and drink plenty of water provided by the sponsors.
Ms. Kaycee Christy then briefed the volunteers where to go throughout the site, what to look for, and where most of the debris can be found. After her brief, disposable heavy duty gloves, shovels, rakes, and pick up implements were distributed. The volunteers were led down into the creek where they began raking, removing litter, and pulling out discarded tires buried in the muck. All tires were successfully removed by an excellent show of CAP team work led by C/2Lt Murphy. At one point a partially buried shopping cart required the direction and knot tying abilities of Mr. Steven Murphy, father of Cadet Murphy and all the might of every CAP member to pull it out of several feet of thick mud. The “Tug-O-War” required two attempts and was successfully removed and unceremoniously discarded from the creek bed. Three tree stumps were also removed by this method and cleared as eye sores from the creek bed.
Other Squadron 144 members cleaned up litter along the railroad tracks along Harbor Boulevard to 28th Street, a round trip distance of two miles!
Short work was made of the clean up due in large part of this CAP squadron with the clean-up ending at 1030 hours.
After cleaning some of the muck off their clothes, the squadron headed to the San Diego County party and barbecue at Cesar Chavez Park about 1½ miles from the clean-up site where everyone enjoyed a hearty lunch, including cold drinks, and cake under the Coronado Bay Bridge. A concrete pier provided beautiful views of the bay and boat traffic passing by.
A raffle was next and each member in attendance won some sort of prize! Cadet Diaz won an Apple iStand.
The cadets played a makeshift game of football for the next hour providing a well deserved way to enjoy the rest of their time together. During this period, Ms. Christy and Mr. Hugo Bermudez, Coastal Clean-Up Captains, informed Capt Saavedra that they were impressed by how well behaved, efficient, and effective our “platoon” demonstrated themselves. They also stated that certificates for community service hours will be prepared and forwarded to the squadron for distribution. Capt Saavedra thanked them for their complements and observations. After what seemed like a long pause, they asked “where we landed our aircraft.”
At 1310 hours the activity secured and all personnel departed for home.
This is the second time we have cleaned up the bay with the San Diego County Port Authority. Accordingly, we have billed this as a non-CAP event and as such the cadets are eligible for the CAP Community Service Ribbon once they reach 60 hours of volunteer time. This type of event also instills camaraderie and teamwork. The ultimate reward is looking down Chollas Creek and seeing it free of debris and feeling a sense of accomplishment as a clean-up volunteer. Hopefully the cadets will add more hours to their respective “log books” and pin on this coveted CAP ribbon.
Any event like this could not happen without our usual parent and senior member drivers. Parents Steven Murphy and Marci Diaz not only drove; they also pitched in and helped clean up along with Michael Saavedra (a possible future cadet) who is the son of Capt Saavedra.
By Captain David Saavedra
Project Officer
SM Tam (left) & LtCol McDowell (right) pose with trash
Members of SD Cadet Sq. 144 cleaning up Chollas Creek
