Norm M Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 The Kankakee River Cleanup scheduled for this Saturday Sept 20, 2008 has been postponed due to safety concerns with the current high water levels. This event is rescheduled for Saturday Oct 4, 2008 from 8AM until 1PM. Please check in at the concession stand at the Kankakee River State Parkas originally planned. When you sign in please sign in as a member of the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance on the sheet provided. Thank you for your interest in this event and we hope this will not cause major inconveinience on your behalf. Let's see if we can get a good turnout for the new day. Don't forget to bring your gear and fish later in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 My son Zachary and I were the only two members to attend the cleanup that signed in. If any one else was there that did not sign in please respond here. Zach and I did the best we could to cover the ISA 3 mile Adopt a River commitment for the cleanup. We had to hit the highly visible areas so only the parking areas for Warner Bridge, the boat ramp, the archery range, the hunting areas on both sides of the river got totally cleaned. We did parts of the bike path, especially at Warner bridge and also part of the path at Area 7. After a break for lunch we hit a section of the river in town and the Island View parking lot and nearby fishimg spots in the state park. We were out from 8 until 2, filled 5 large bags of garbage, turned in one box of old paint cans to the NIAA and moved large pieces of debris in several places near garbage cans for the IDNR to remove. I also reported one large item we were unable to move and one case of dumping to the IDNR for them to remove when personal and equipment became availible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don R Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Excellent job by the two of you! I was hoping for a better showing of ISA members but that could be the same thing others were thinking that weren't able to attend. I very much appreciate all the hard work you and your son did for this event! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I had not noticed the the date or for sure I would have been there. I think if there was a little more discusion on the boards maybe a reminder email, you guys would have drawn a bigger crowd. You need to advertise better. Based on past draw's there is no reason to believe the contrary. Perhaps reschedule? Depending on the date I will help out. Saturday's are best for me but depending on the date I'll be there on Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Mark , The event had been rescheduled from a previous date due to highwater. Mike did send out an email with upcoming events. I would have put more up but circumstances kept me away from the computer for a number of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I had not noticed the the date or for sure I would have been there. I think if there was a little more discusion on the boards maybe a reminder email, you guys would have drawn a bigger crowd. You need to advertise better. Based on past draw's there is no reason to believe the contrary. Perhaps reschedule? Depending on the date I will help out. Saturday's are best for me but depending on the date I'll be there on Sunday. Advertise better? It is posted here in the forum, on the Calendar, in the newsletter, on the eNews.... Not sure how much more can be done to attract volunteers to clean up garbage, but we tried. We are also responsible for conserving and protecting dozens of other rivers and streams across the state, and that includes much more than just clean-ups. I recently decided to take a few weeks off for a long-deserved break. I haven't taken a single one in all the years I've been an officer. It wasn't 24 hours, and I'm getting phone calls and PM's about how this event should have been handled better. Well, that and the fact the phone still rings and emails flood in regarding everything else we're working on that is conservation related. So much for a little break, huh? The recent formation of a Conservation Committee was my way of saying "My family desperately needs me right now, and I need help here". The door is still open on that...(link in my signature) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don R Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 I had not noticed the the date or for sure I would have been there. I think if there was a little more discusion on the boards maybe a reminder email, you guys would have drawn a bigger crowd. You need to advertise better. Based on past draw's there is no reason to believe the contrary. Perhaps reschedule? Mike has some valid points here! The calendar on our web site is a relatively new feature. The constant contact e-news (a reminder email) is wonderful recent accomplishment! Those two things coupled with the newsletter and web site event forums are all fantastic ways to advertise upcoming events! The reference to past draws must be from days gone by. Take a look at last year's results: http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/foru...?showtopic=1807 In '06 it was better but the numbers were already going down: http://illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/foru...p?showtopic=482 We can always hope for a better turn out but to be disappointed in a lack of volunteers seems futile. I'd rather be very thankful for the volunteerism that we do get from our membership. Each year we seem to take on more projects which in turn sometimes spreads our volunteers rather thin. I commend Mike and all the officers for the work that they do. Much of that work is behind the scenes. Remembering that this is all volunteer work we should all be quick to commend and not to condemn. Advice is always welcome. peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted October 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Don I think at our best we had 40 plus guys at a K3 cleanup. Mark was grillmaster supremo that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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