EVERETT — Mia Acompa has done this before.
The first-grader’s family has helped clean up Jackson Park in northeast Everett a few times. On Saturday, they joined about 40 others in a cleanup that fanned out from Wiggums Hollow Park.
“There’s a lot of garbage,” Mia said. “It might be dirty. We don’t want to spread germs everywhere.”
Her brother, Alberto, 3, pushed around a green bin about half his size. “It’s my trash!” he proudly told passersby.
Saturday’s effort was coordinated by the Delta Neighborhood Association and Take Back Our Neighborhood, a community group based in north Everett. Delta’s two main parks, Wiggums Hollow and Jackson, have seen more problems since extra police sweeps started last year at Clark Park across Broadway, according to neighbors.
Cate Harrington founded the Take Back group, which organizes cleanups around Snohomish County, primarily getting the word out through social media. Take Back provided the supplies Saturday, with assistance from the city, including picker-uppers, gloves and kits to collect hypodermic needles.
On Harrington’s advice, families with children stayed in the middle of the park, away from the borders and bushes. Within a few hours, the volunteers had collected dozens of bags of trash, along with needles, and they found a handgun, which the police came and picked up.
Teams came to help from several other Everett neighborhoods, including Bayside, Holly and Northwest. Delta looks forward to responding in kind, said Mary Fosse, chairwoman for the neighborhood association.
“It’s improving your community, and it’s giving back and it’s making it safe for kids,” she said.
Linda War Bonnet brought along her son, third-grader Caden, and his friend, Lucas Clark. The boys were filling a bag with trash, including candy wrappers.
“Whoever must have been eating these Airheads must have been enjoying them,” Lucas said. “That bench over there must have been cigarette city.”
Chipping in matters, Caden said.
Otherwise, he said, “If just one person doesn’t throw garbage away, there might be a whole park full of garbage.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
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