The city of Bogalusa held its first organizational meeting for the state’s “Cleanest City Contest” on Thursday. Parks and Recreation Director Landon Tims said he volunteered the city for the project, and added, “the only way it’s going to work is if everybody takes part.”

“This is the first time we’re taking part in over a decade,” Tims said. Mayor Wendy Perrette noted that, “in 2001, we won first place.”

Tims urges businesses to clean their neighborhoods, residents to clean their properties, and students to clean their schoolyards.

There will also be a poster contest with cash prizes for students. The first-place winner will get $50, the second-place winner will get $25, and the third-place winner will get $15, Tims said.

“It’s not much, but we want the kids to learn they shouldn’t throw trash on the ground,” he said.

The assembled citizens, who included businessmen, educators, and various club representatives decided on, “Be a part of the solution, not the pollution” as the slogan for the 2018 campaign.

Bogalusa’s cleanliness will be judged one day between April 2 and April 6, so residents can use the contest as an excuse to do some extra “spring cleaning.” Tims also wants residents to sign up for Adopt-A-Site spaces, “to take tons of pictures, and bring them to me before the first week of April.”

He also said he could provide labor and some financial support. Tims is in the public works office at Bogalusa City Hall.

To find out what sites are still available, call him at 985-516-3870 or email him at landon.tims@bogalusa.org.

Tims said he would like every resident of Bogalusa to get enthusiastically involved in being a part of the solution, not the pollution.