Hometown Rankin - June & July 2017

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Becca’s Project How One Girl is Changing Her Community for the Better Jennifer Milner ‘‘E ven though you’re small, you can make a difference,” is the advice Becca Blair gives when talking with groups of preschoolers and elementary school kids. Becca, age 9, has taken these encouraging words to heart with her own recent efforts to promote and grow recycling in her community. “Help Me Go Green & Recycle” 88 • June 2017
From a very young age, Becca’s family instilled in her the importance of conserving our natural resources and being good stewards of the environment. Along with her family, Becca is a faithful volunteer with Keep the Reservoir Beautiful, the local Keep Mississippi Beautiful affiliate. Since she was only 3 years old Becca has been picking up litter and participating in other clean-up activities in and around the Ross Barnett Reservoir, helping her fellow volunteers maintain the natural beauty of this popular recreational destination for residents and visitors alike to enjoy. Becca’s interest in recycling, however, was sparked just last spring by an article on landfills she read as part of a school assignment. Becca, a homeschool student in 3rd grade at the time, learned from the article that 70% of the materials sent to landfills can be recycled. This statistic grabbed Becca’s attention prompting her to ask her mom if they could start recycling at their home, and see how much material they could save from the landfill. While this idea seems simple enough, the Blair family live in Rankin County; and recycling here is no easy task for residents compared to other counties and cities in the Jackson area. The County does not offer curbside recycling services, and only operates two recycling drop off locations in a County of nearly 150,000 residents. Despite these challenges Becca’s mom, Michelle, agreed that their family should start recycling, and encouraged Becca to turn her idea into a school project by keeping track of how much material their household collects for recycling. After getting the hang of recycling at their house, Becca and her mom noticed that the family trash had been reduced from 2 bags of trash a day to 1 bag every four days. “Once I saw how much recycling helped us, I wanted to help my neighbors,” recalls Becca. And with that thought in mind, Becca, supported by her family and neighbors, began collecting recyclables in her neighborhood for transport to the nearest county recycling drop-off center located at the Reservoir Fire Station. She developed a slogan “Help Me Go Green and Recycle” and started advertising her “recycling services” by distributing flyers around her neighborhood. She also asked her friends at Keep the Reservoir Beautiful to get involved. The organization happily answered the call by donating reusable recycling tote bags. These bright orange repurposed potato sacks are used to hold collected recyclables. Becca gives a bag or bag(s) out to anyone in the neighborhood who asks to participate. Bags are also offered as a welcome to folks just moving in along with Becca’s flyer and a tasty homemade treat. Initially Becca collected from only a few neighbors, but as word spread of Becca’s expanded school project, more and more neighbors asked to be added to her “route”. According to Michelle, 75-80% of their neighbors put their bags out once a week. To keep this enthusiasm going, Becca conducts contests periodically to encourage Hometown Rankin • 89
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volume 4 number 3 June 2017 message
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Hometown Rankin • 3
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publisher & Editor Tahya A. Dobbs C
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Jason Herrington It means patriotis
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dine-in . take-out catering Pit Smo
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“When you say, ‘I’m from Bran
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After the family invested the twent
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Urgent Ortho-Care is expanding to M
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Home of the Free Because of the Bra
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William Simmie Honea, Jr. Hometown:
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April 6 - Pelahatchie Baptist Churc
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Anh Giang Edwards, OD Melissa R asm
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Vihaan Mahajan I love that he plays
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Serving our county Phillip Sandifer
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Page 37 and 38: : architects : engineers : interior
Page 39 and 40: Hometown Rankin • 39
Page 41 and 42: Mississippi Blood Services offers a
Page 45 and 46: “Every single person on staff is
Page 47 and 48: Anyone that has ever lost a loved o
Page 49 and 50: So a few weeks ago, I was in our ba
Page 53 and 54: ankin Recipes Drunk & Dirty Beef Te
Page 55 and 56: Annual Luncheon march 30 • Richla
Page 57 and 58: From nose to toes we’ve got you c
Page 59 and 60: Love is an incredible & powerful fo
Page 61 and 62: Knowing that being placed on a tran
Page 69 and 70: Updates to the park over the years
Page 77 and 78: Moving to Rankin County was a wonde
Page 83 and 84: Call us to schedule your next visit
Page 85 and 86: It certainly felt like Matt Withrow
Page 87: Hometown Rankin • 87
Page 91 and 92: her neighbors to recycle as much as
Page 97 and 98: Highland Bluff Elementary Each year
Page 99 and 100: Pisgah High Before we complete fina
Page 101 and 102: Pelahatchie High Partnered with Get
Page 103 and 104: C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Hometown Ranki
Page 105 and 106: Retirement, Assisted Living, Memory
Page 107 and 108: KD’s Furniture Great Selection of
Page 115 and 116: NEW YEAR NEW LOCATION NEW EQUIPMENT
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Hometown Rankin - June & July 2017

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