Cleanup corps
Youth provide labor for local projects

Youth Conservation Corps members Tracey Smitt, left, and Zach Smith work to clean the medians along Washington Avenue in Grants Thursday.— © 2009 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Cibola County Youth Conservation Corps workers are working through the Future Foundations Family Center program providing labor this summer for city of Grants projects.

The program employs eight students from ages 14-24 during the summer and the city of Grants partners with Future Foundations Family Center.

Kristin Montoya, 18, a 2009 graduate of Grants High School, is one of the workers picking up rocks, painting curbs, staining wood, and beginning this week, she will be planting trees in Grants.

“I enjoy it, it keeps me busy,” she said.

“The city provides the materials to do the work, like paint and trees, and we supply the labor,” Laura Malaj, executive director of the family center said.

This is the fifth year, although not consecutively, that the Youth Conservation Corps has been used in Grants, she said.

“The application for each year is due in August, the year before,” she said. “I haven’t heard from the city yet, but if they have some things they want done next year we will apply for the grant again.

“The grants are typically $31,000-$34,000,” which pays the salaries of the Youth Conservation Corps,” she said.

Corps members work outside in the morning doing the city projects, and in the afternoons they help the family center with the youth day camps, Dale Good, program supervisor said.

“The program runs from June 1 through Aug. 7,” he said.

“We painted curbs at Riverwalk Park and cleaned up the median on Washington Avenue near Ash and Mount Taylor Avenue,” Montoya said. “We cleaned out the weeds and picked up rocks to make it look nice ... I like doing this work, it helps the city and when you look back on it, you feel better about yourself.”

Jeremy Gallegos, 17, an incoming senior at Grants High School this fall, said the Youth Conservation Corps is a good program.

“It’s pretty fun. I like being outside and it’s good to do this manual labor, it helps the environment and helps Grants look cleaner,” he said.

Gallegos said the only thing about the summer program is it is a little nerve wracking when watching the youth in the afternoons at the family center.

This is Good’s second year supervising the Corps during the summer.

“We will be planting about 125 trees along the sidewalks of Santa Fe Avenue,” he said. “The trees will go in between Autozone and Ed Corley Buick ... It should take about two to three weeks to get that done.”

The wood that was stained for the pavilions was roof panels and there were 89 of those, he said.

The corps members also stained the large solid stage area. All staining was with special wood stain that protects the wood from the elements, he said.

“This crew is about the same in work quality as last year’s, which is good” Good said. “But this year they are much neater about keeping their work areas clean, and that is a plus from last year’s crew.”

Information: (505) 285-3542.