By Lauren Kendall, Obion County Schools Communications Director
Obion County, Tenn.–Staff from Ridgemont Elementary recently participated in a Rives Clean-Up Day in Rives, Tennessee. A few weeks ago, Dana Craddock, Principal of Ridgemont Elementary School, started to look into ways that her and her staff at Ridgemont could give back to their community. With Rives being the closest to the school, Craddock reached out to Rives Alderman, Craig McCord. Once in contact, Craddock explained the relationship that she was wanting to build with their closest community and the desire she had to give back to that community and asked what her and her staff could do to help. Alderman McCord informed Craddock of some of the community’s most immediate needs, like the ballpark and concessions needing some maintenance.
On Saturday, May 7th, some of Ridgemont’s staff and Rives’ community members met up at the Old Rives School to come up with a game plan and get started for the day. With the help of Ridgemont staff, the ballfields’ dugout were cleaned up, the bathrooms and concessions were cleaned and given a fresh coat of paint, limbs were picked up and hauled off, and the ball park was mowed with mowers supplied by Hagan Lawn Care and Landscaping. Hagan Lawn Care and Landscaping also brought a tractor and dump trailer for yard clean-up and removal.
Joseph Ramsey, husband of Ridgemont teacher Katie Ramsey, brought out his excavator from his company, First Choice Farm and Lawn Care, with him to the park. The use of the excavator paid off when Ramsey was able to help identify a problem with the water system under the ground at the ballpark.
While some of the work at the ballpark was being wrapped-up, Ridgemont staff kept up the work by moving on to the Rives City Hall building. They cleaned out the flower beds in front of the building and cleaned up the property.
Those that were in attendance were also rewarded for all their hard work with a Fish Lunch, provided at no cost by a County Commissioner, Ricky Boyd, at the Rives Church of Christ. Dana Craddock said this about the progress that had been made.
Photo–Left to Right: Kaitlin Scott, Ricky Boyd, Amanda Jimerson, Savannah Blankenship, Hannah Emberton, Kim Little, Lisa Tucker, Allie Tucker