By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – Cleaning up is not just for the kids.

&#8220Beach Sweep 2007,” the annual even to clean up Lake Pontchartrain, will be held this year on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon.

&#8220Beach Sweep 2007” will be the 18th year that the Lake Pontchartrain Foundation will head up the event, which continues to try and clean up the lake that so many in South Louisiana use.

&#8220After Katrina hit, we realized how important it was to keep the areas clean of trash that were even close to our waterways. We just hadn’t thought a lot about the trash left on shores being washed right down into our lake,” Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Environmental Education Specialist JoAnn Burke said.

And that is the reason that the annual effort to clean up the Lake Pontchartrain Basin area has now expanded to include anything close to the lake, or the basin area, since that trash or pollution will work its way right down into the lake if left alone long enough.

Here in St. John Parish, a large group of volunteers are preparing to tackle Highway 51, on the stretch that runs parallel to Interstate 55, where much trash can be found at the many spots along Highway 51 where people fish or just enjoy the connection to the lake.

St. John Business Association President O.J. Breech is the local captain for the St. John effort, and along with her organization, has commitments so far from the LaPlace Rotary Club, Keep St. John Beautiful Committee, and perhaps others such as Boy Scouts in the area

But she said the St. John effort is open to anyone who wants to spend a few hours on Saturday, Sept. 15, helping keep the lake clean, and the areas that directly lead into the lake.

Anyone wishing to join in can meet at the gas station/truck stop parking lot between I-55 and I-10 at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.