The Dodge County Adult Drug Court program had a litter pickup day at the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area with Keep Fremont Beautiful Tuesday.
“We try to make it a pretty big event, just to kind of recognize both the participants for what they’ve done in drug court, and also just to kind of recognize what drug court means for the state of Nebraska,” Drug Court Coordinator Brandon Jerred said.
The cleanup saw 26 drug court members and participants, who picked up 60 bags of trash at the lakes during the course of five hours.
“Statewide, the problem-solving court programs all try to do something special just to kind of recognize the month of May for being National Drug Court Month,” Jerred said. “So this is the way Dodge County chose to celebrate that, was by going out to the Fremont Lakes and helping to pick up trash out there.”
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In May 2020, drug court participants also took part in a trash cleanup at different Fremont parks.
“We felt like the Fremont Lakes was the best choice for us to do it this year, with just the popularity of those facilities out there,” Jerred said.
KFB Executive Director Casey Vaughan said Jerred had initially reached out to the organization to take part in another pickup for this year.
“Last year was just such a great experience, so I said, ‘Absolutely, we would love to partner with you,’” she said. “And he had already lined up to clean up the state lakes, which was fabulous, because that’s a highly utilized area throughout the summer months.”
Sgt. Dustin Weitzel of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to find a Tuesday for the cleanup, as the drug court meets that day of the week.
“I did go out at the very beginning to deliver supplies and talk to the participants about litter and about Keep Fremont Beautiful and the work that we do, ways that they could help out in the future,” Vaughan said.
District Court Judge Geoffrey Hall also visited the cleanup to thank the participants for their work, while Vaughan returned to the event to visit with them.
“It was just nice to get that feedback from them, because it’s amazing when people go out and do cleanups,” she said. “They gain a better understanding of litter, what’s commonly littered, where things are commonly littered.”
Vaughan said the cleanup allowed for the participants to not only give back to the community, but to directly see the difference they made.
“They can turn around and look back at the path that they just cleared litter off of and see the difference that they made,” she said. “And from the feedback that I get, I think that that makes it meaningful for them as volunteers doing that work.”
For next year’s National Drug Court Month, Vaughan said she would be more than happy to continue the event.
“Drug court is a wonderful partner,” she said. “Everyone was extremely appreciative of having the opportunity to serve the community, and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.”
Ultimately, Jerred said the cleanup gave drug court participants the opportunity to get together for a laid-back, relaxed event outside of the probation office or courthouse.
“This really just gets them out into the community a little bit more, and it really helps them kind of give back to the community,” he said. “But also, it’s just a way for them to learn team building, and really build up that morale and for them to really kind of see what the benefit of giving back to the community is.”