Members of the Jeffersonian Democratic Club, Summit Hill, have completed a community service project in their hometown, cleaning up debris at the cemetery complex in the eastern end of the community.

"At our June meeting, members decided they wanted to give back to the community, and so we decided to help spruce up the area around the cemeteries, where, sadly, people have chosen to make it a dumping ground," said Nathan Halenar, club president."This was an opportunity for us to help the community," he said. "We are not just about asking the public for their help, but, conversely, we want to help others too. In this case, we were able to clean up the area where people go to visit the graves of their loved ones."Members spend part of Saturday morning pulling tires, paper, bottles and cans and even a mattress out of the refuse pile that visibly left a scar outside the cemeteries. They then solicited the help of Earl Henninger of Stoney Lonesome Excavating, Summit Hill, to level huge tree trunks, branches, concrete and other heavy dirt and gravel that others left at the site. Club members used weed whackers to knock down vegetation that had grown to mar the appearance."We wanted to do something to give back to the community, to make a positive impact, and this was an ideal project for our club to take on," said Bill O'Gurek Jr., club member and chairman of the Democratic Party of Carbon County. "Our hope is that by cleaning up this area, maybe in the future it will discourage someone from dumping trash or tires up here and we can keep the area looking respectable for those who come to visit the grave sites of their families and friends.""Too often some people only want to complain about the negative state of things in their community," Halenar added. "It is my hope that our club can set an example by doing. If everyone does their small part to make Summit Hill a better place, we can work to continue to add to our atmosphere of community in a more fuller sense."Club members acknowledged the help of Summit Hill Borough officials in having the numerous bags of refuse and other garbage picked up and hauled away."It's a shame that people would be so disrespectful by throwing their garbage around the site where our loved ones are buried," Joe O'Gurek said.Bill O'Gurek Sr. said Henninger was quick to lend a hand to level the heavy debris that the club members would not have otherwise been able to move."Earl is a good businessman in the community and he cares about the way things look," O'Gurek said. "This wasn't the first time he helped spruce up that area. He often works up there at gravesites, and probably gets a better look at illegal dumping than anyone. From time to time, he tries to clean up the mess that others leave there. He did a great job, and we want to publicly thank him for his assistance, but we hope people will realize that the cemetery area is a sacred place, not a dumping ground.""This is the type of thing that we need community groups to be willing to do," said Jesse Walck, another club member. "A little bit of hard work goes a long way in making this a better place for all of us."He pointed out that political clubs aren't usually known for their community service."But if these members have their way, that may change," he noted. "Members of our club made their way out on a misty Saturday morning in order to do everything from weedwhacking to pulling tires and trash from what has long been a dumping ground.""It was worth the time and effort," club member Michael McCall said. "To see how that part of the cematery was when we got there, and then how it looked when we left, it was a nice improvement. I hope people see what was done and will stop dumping there now."Alice Kane, one of the female club members who participated in the cleanup, offered a unique perspective of the project."I certainly didn't look forward to getting up on a Saturday morning to go behind the cemetery with a bunch of guys" she said. "It wasn't a popular task, which makes me appreciate all the more the good-hearted guys that pitched in. They made it an hour of laughs rather than a chore. I look forward to more community service with this great bunch."