By LEONARD GRAY

DES ALLEMANDS – The fifth annual Tire Bash is set May 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Des Allemands Ball Park on WPA Road, near the American Legion Hall.

The event is planned as a part of St. Charles Parish’s Clean-Up Day, where the parish is urging a general clean-up of the entire parish. The Tire Bash is co-sponsored by the La. Department of Environmental Quality, Swamp Eyes and St. Charles Parish.

During that four-hour event, parish residents may bring their old tires to the ball park for proper disposal. Getting rid of old tires will cut down on mosquito habitats and make for a more attractive parish, as tire dumps are ugly and are a fire hazard.

Pat Elfer of Swamp Eyes, a St. Rose resident, asks that loads of not more than 20 tires be delivered at a time, and rims will not be accepted.

The event, which has been held in the past in a more central part of St. Charles Parish, is being held this time in Des Allemands to enable those living in Des Allemands, Bayou Gauche and Paradis more convenient access to the pickup sites.

Where do the tires go? Elfer has the answers. Old tires can be used with artificial reefs and breakwaters, for erosion control, highway crash barriers and with playground equipment.

The tire material can be re-used at power plants, and at tire, cement, pulp, paper and steel plants, and split or punched tires can be used for floor mats, belts, gaskets, shoe soles, dock bumpers, seals, muffler hangers, shims, washers and insulators.

Ground tire rubber can also be used for rubber and plastic products, including molded floor mats, mud guards, carpet padding, rubber railroad crossings, additives for asphalt pavements and plastic adhesives.

The St. Charles Parish Clean-Up Day, also May 11, will be asking local residents to clean up roadsides, plant trees, clean public docks, remove graffiti, clean up parks and plant gardens.

Several schools, civic groups and other organizations have already committed to assisting in the cleanup, including: Harry Hurst Middle School Beta Club, Destrehan High School Junior ROTC, Boy Scouts, Norco Elementary, St. Charles Parish Library, Norco Lions Club, Sacred Heart Youth Center, Crompton Corp., Bell Baptist Church and OxyChem.

To plan organized clean-up events, call Steve Sirmon of Parish President Albert Laque’s office at 783-5000, Capt. Patrick Yoes of the sheriff’s office at 783-1355 or Elfer at 469-0416.

The Clean-Up Day is part of the Great American Clean-Up, led nationally by Keep America Beautiful Inc.

Last year, more than two million volunteers took part in the cleanup during the March 15-May 30 period.