Mayor Jeff Hall presented a proclamation at the council meeting designating Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, as Lincoln County River Roundup Day and invited residents to participate in volunteer cleanup and a follow-up celebration planned for World Rivers Day.

The proclamation described the Roundup as a long-running community cleanup that brings residents, organizations and public officials together to remove debris from local waterways. Mayor Hall said the event is being celebrated in its 30th year, acknowledging a period of dormancy before revitalization.

City officials and event organizers noted results from last year’s Roundup: volunteers removed 124 tires and approximately 1,420 pounds of scrap metal in addition to multiple piles of trash from waterways and riverbanks. The mayor announced a follow-up event on World Rivers Day, Sept. 29, at Velvet Ice Cream’s North Fork wetlands site and encouraged residents to register or walk in at local sites such as Everett Park, Ohio Street and Riverview Preserve.

Why it matters: the River Roundup organizes civic volunteers for environmental stewardship of local waterways and offers a short-duration volunteer opportunity (registrations open the morning of the event and most sites finish around noon).

Council members noted logistics: walk-ins are accepted even if online registration appears full; participants may register for kayak or canoe cleanups on certain stretches. The city’s Everett Park site will accept walk-ins and provide assignments; organizers said recent patrols found 43 tires in a short river stretch alone.

The proclamation is a ceremonial recognition to encourage participation. No ordinance or funding was adopted at this meeting specifically tied to the River Roundup.

For residents: registrations were noted to start at 8:30 a.m. with cleanups beginning at 9 a.m. and typically concluding by noon.