River Otter Day – March 3, 2007 – Historic Town of Kansas

6:00 a.m. – Alton Ave. – Columbia, MO; coffee gets put on
6:30 – start up diesel van to melt off newly fallen snow.
6:33 – get call from Anthony – we can come get him
6:37 – pick up Veronica
6:45 – (Little) John meets us at Racin’ Dave’s shop. Racin’ Dave is nowhere in sight. (He had backstage passes to Rev. Horton Heat the night before)
7:00 – pick up (Big) John in Rocheport
7:05 – cross Missouri River on I-70 headed west, snow flying in our faces

The River Otter Day Clean-up (1st Annual?) in the City Market section of downtown Kansas City, MO., was a strange affair for us. First of all, we weren’t using boats. This was a completely land-based clean-up.

Second of all, we were asked by the K.C. Port Authority to do this clean-up. They are planning on renovating the land there, below the Main Street Pier walkway, to become a nice riverside parklet. Over the years, countless items of trash, including tires, refrigerators and infinity bottles and cans have accumulated below the pier. Historic homeless camps have left dumps of old furniture and piles of cat food cans (there’s quite a few wild river cats running around the area).

When we started, it was snowing so much you couldn’t see the tops of the downtown skyscrapers. But regardless of the weather, 130 people showed up to help clean up this historic area – the site of the riverside village that eventually grew to the metropolis we (out-of-towners, anyway) know as CowTown.

River Otter Day was originally scheduled for Feb. 3 (to coincide with Groundhog Day – hence the clever name). Inches of ice on the ground postponed it, meaning another month of work for our KC coordinator Vicki Richmond.

The site is an utter confusion of landowners and easements, but Vicki worked with all of them to make sure the event went smoothly. The KC Port Authority helped plan the event and give cash assistance, KC Power and Light kicked in, First and Main Lofts brought a backhoe and the railroad hired two front-end loaders and a Bobcat to scoop and haul trash. With 130 volunteers working hard until lunch (and beyond), we kept those dozers humming all morning. Volunteers of all ages teamed up in groups, maneuvering around the skilled heavy equipment operators and scouring the brushy hillside for trash.

Team Leaders represented a slew of agencies and non-profits. John Jansen from Jackson County, Larry O’Donnell from Little Blue Watershed Alliance, Troy Gordon from Friends of Big Muddy and John Brady, Dan Belshe and John Brady from Missouri River Relief guided groups, keeping trash cleaners working safely and smartly.

After lunch, more folks walked across the pier to the Riverfront Heritage Trail to it up. Hopefully, this trail will someday connect the Kansas side of Kansas City with the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers via the Katy Trail.

After most of us had packed up and were getting ready for an after clean-up beer, another crew headed down to the trail to pick up all the bagged trash. It took three trips with our 4X4 pickup, and each time they got stopped by a train. So, of course, they hopped out and picked up more trash!

Then, (Little) John (who is actually bigger than (Big) John, but younger) and Bill Sapp (renegade Missouri River trash picker) climbed a 30 foot ladder (in hurricane force winds, I swear) and cleaned off broken glass and a smashed computer from the top of a concrete pier. Apparently, it’s quite a tradition to toss things from the Main Street Pier and watch them shatter on the top of this pillar.

All told, a tough bunch of volunteers and heavy equipment hauled out 15 tons of trash from the site.

Now, all we have left is the Dakota Pick-up that still lays upside down under the slab beneath the pier…..just wait until October when we come back to KC!!!!

-steve schnarr

Atchison, KS - Sept. 8, 2006 - "Crossing the Bridge"

Crossing the Bridge
Atchison, KS, September 8^th, 2006

By Michael Richmond
It all began midway across the bridge on US hwy. 59 as it crossed over from Missouri into Kansas across the Missouri River headed West into Atchison, Kansas. Crossing this bridge into Atchison, was like stepping into a chapter from “Blue Highways.”

Little did I know that what began as a scouting trip for this week-end’s Missouri River Relief’s first clean-up in this exceptional city, would show us just how a town could embrace our efforts to clean the Missouri River.

This clean-up began with this event being billed as the “Beginning of the End” of our final clean-ups for the Fall of 2006. As it turned out, I believe it was the “Beginning of New Opportunities” for this organization. Just as the bridge was bumpy, our new “reach” will also be bumpy!

I have written about the “moments” that we share at these events, but never, have I mentioned the beauty of the citizens that make these “moments” possible. This town, and it wonderful people, made this day, and the days that lead up to the clean-up, most special. To the last man and woman, this town became involved on a personal level that we do not normally see. Andy, Barney, Floyd and Aunt Bea all came to life and turned into real people. Thank you Corbin, John, Maria, Paul and ALL the other incredible individuals for making this day so special to all of the Missouri River Relief crew.

This wonderful town, with is spectacular river-front park, ramps and docks, made the rain that fell on Saturday seem meaningless. The education event held on Friday, was attended by over 800 students and teachers. Blue sky’s shown down upon our future that day!

The town also had a “beautification day” as well during our event, and by the end of the day, both the river and streets were free from trash. That effort brought smiles to so many that day, as such an accomplishment as this, is what brings us all together for a common good.

The St. Benedictine’s girls soccer team, the “boatload of nuns,” the beefy college boys, all contributed to the effort as well as so many more. This was a most wonderful day for all that were fortunate enough to participate.

Thank you Atchison for opening up your streets, homes and hearts to our Crew!

Bonnot's Mill Clean-Up: Units of Measurement

by Michael Richmond

On Saturday, May 6th, 2006, Missouri River Relief hosted a river clean-up at Bonnots Mill on the Osage River, approximately two miles from the confluence of the Osage and Missouri Rivers. While this clean-up will not go down as one of our largest of 2006, it will be remembered for the amount of trash the mere 69 Volunteers and Crew were able to pull off the river.

Most of these events are measured by “numbers.” In recapping a clean-up we always refer to these “numbers”, such as the “number” of volunteers, boats used for the event, bags of trash, tires, stoves, refrigerators, the miles of shore we cleaned, and the tonnage of scrap. While this event had its “numbers,” I will remember its success by using a different “unit of measurement”. My unit of measurement will be in “moments.”

The “moments” I refer to are the people, situations, and words that will stay with me for a very long time. These are the true reasons to volunteer for these events. It is enough to simply participate in an event such as this, to know you have done your part to make our natural resources a little cleaner. But the real payback is in these “moments” that one has when they participate in a clean-up from start to finish. Trash is trash, but it is the friendships, hard work amongst strangers --both young and old-- and stories around a campfire, that stay with you for a very long time.

Have you ever seen the pride on a volunteer’s face when they help pull a 150lb. buoy a quarter of a mile, through two-foot thick debris and timber left by high water? What about the look on a small girl’s face when she sits on the floor of the big plate boat and heads off across “Big Muddy” for her first clean-up? The uncertainty often seen in her eyes changes by the time she heads back for lunch. Pride and confidence are now apparent in both her eyes and gait.

It is not uncommon to see a child experience the river for the first time, or find what they consider a “treasure” that they drag back to camp. How could a bowling ball ever be a “treasure,” unless YOU found it on a river bank, and were certain that you had found a CANNON BALL?

Things were clearly in perspective early Saturday morning as we prepared for the day by having our first cup of coffee by the campfire. Not too far from us, two ducks and their ducklings were venturing out across the Osage river for their own training. This sight, seen by just a few, was captured forever, both in our minds and on film. Thanks for preserving the moment Tim Cheney!






Or how about the deliverance of the porta-potty to the sign-in station, with Quartermaster Brady squatting inside to insure it did not tip over. One’s commitment to a clean-up is often not seen in normal terms, but rather in these “moments.”

You should have seen that one foshee** that took flight above the fire, magically weaving through the branches of the giant cottonwood tree, then continuing its glowing flight above the Osage. It then burned out only to have its life gently fall downward like glowing feathers. Who was the pilot of this craft other than the pure spirit of the individual that had folded it?

We must also give thanks to our camp host, Soda Popp. Soda has lived on the banks of the Osage for the past 25 years. He is a local sportsman and environmentalist that, as you guessed, has a sister, Lolly. His stories, told in the boats and by the campfire, were priceless and gave us many “moments” to remember.

It makes no difference to anyone on our crew, or among volunteers, what one does for a living. Out on the river, we are all the same and thus, these “moments” have no boundaries or restrictions as to who can have them.

Next time you get an opportunity to participate in a Missouri River Relief clean-up, plan on camping alongside the river with us, and creating your own “moments.”

Oh, by the way, we collected approximately 118 bags of trash, 1 refrigerator, 1 capsized and abandoned fiberglass boat, 22 large chunks of Styrofoam from boat docks, 49 tires and 2 navigation buoys. And one bowling ball who always wished he had been shot out of a cannon.

See you at the next clean-up!!!

**Editor’s note: “What is a ‘foshee’” you ask? I’ve heard it called “Ozark Origami” & “Hillbilly Fireworks” and I’ve seen it spelled at least four different ways, but if you need more information than that, I reckon you’ll have to keep watching this “River Notes” space for “The Mystical Secrets of the Foshi Revealed (Or Not)”.

And for you number-crunchers and list-perusers in the crowd.......

Volunteers: 69
River Miles: 10
Tons of Trash/Debris: 3.5 tons
Number of boats: 6 (3 Missouri Dept. of Conservation, 3 Missouri River Relief)

Trash List): 115 large red bags of trash * 3 green mesh bags of trash * 49 tires * 1 50-gallon drum of flammable goo * 1 entire toilet, Charmin not included * 1 set of metal stairs * 1 metal step (a gangplank??) * 1 boat trailer jack * 1 ATV axle with 1 wheel still attached * 1 rear portion (approx. 37 percent) of a Big Wheel that suffered the wrath of a daredevil child * 1 half of a drum filled with styrofoam * 1 extremely racey message in a bottle * 1 mundane message in a bottle * 1 enormous plastic flower pot * 2 metal buckets * 3 plastic buckets * 1 plastic mat * 22 large chunks of styrofoam from boat docks * 3 coolers * 1 water heater * 2 metal tanks * 5 plastic barrels * 1 small refrigerator * 2 red buoys * 1 bundle of large-gauge wire * 1 boat chair * 1 metal pipe * 1 faulty blow-up raft * 1 bundle of electric cord * 1 LARGE boat, capsized and abandoned * 1 bowling ball dreaming of that wonderous tournament back in '73 * 1 plastic pirate sword, still useful for scaring away landlubbers * 1 large refrigerator