Saturday morning, while many young people were still asleep, five students in the Bogalusa High School Jr. ROTC program were making a difference for their community.

The JROTC cadets included Devin Lavinghouse, Dretoris Mark, Greg Chalfant, Christopher Mason and Javion Reed. They spent several hours helping to improve the area around Bogalusa City Hall, including trimming hedges and cleaning the front entrance.

City council member Teddy Drummond said that some citizens had mentioned that the city hall hedges were getting overgrown, and that the work was “long overdue.”

Drummond contacted JROTC instructor First Sgt. Jack Rogers at the high school, and Rogers put Chalfant in charge of arranging the work crew.

“I hope the public will thank these kids and their leaders when they see them,” Drummond said. “They’re tremendous ambassadors for our city.”

Drummond noted that JROTC cadets participate in a variety of other service projects throughout the year, including cleanup days, military appreciation events and working at the Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival.

Drummond said he hopes that the “spring cleaning” at city hall will become an annual event.

“With as much bad news as there is in the world, it’s nice to see young people who are doing positive things for their community,” he said.