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Hot Springs Wins Second Consecutive Arkansas Shine Award

Community honored for wide range of environmental programs

HOT SPRINGS (Sep. 21, 2009) - The City of Hot Springs has won its second consecutive Arkansas Shine Award from the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB). KAB representatives presented the award to city officials at a reception today at Hot Springs City Hall.

The Arkansas Shine Awards program recognizes communities that are making significant strides in providing programs and instituting policies to create sustainable communities. Hot Springs is one of six statewide recipients of the second annual Arkansas Shine Awards.

“Hot Springs continues to develop a wide range of environmental programs and projects,” wrote Mayor Mike Bush in the city’s Arkansas Shine Awards entry. “We truly feel that our community has made a significant commitment to the environment and will continue to develop and implement new strategies to make our community the greenest city in Arkansas!”

In fact, Hot Springs is developing a comprehensive environmental plan for the future called the “Green Initiative,” according to the awards entry. The goal of the Green Initiative is to make Hot Springs the greenest city in the state. The Hot Springs Board of Directors has created a citizen group, the Green Initiative Advisory Committee that is reviewing the results of a citizen survey and will develop a Green Initiative strategic plan for Hot Springs.

Recycling programs in Hot Springs were expanded in 2009 with the implementation of e-waste recycling by the Hot Springs/Garland County Beautification Commission (HSGCBC). This grant-funded program, in partnership with the Hot Springs Sanitation Department, collects and sorts electronics for recycling from schools, civic groups and other nonprofit organizations throughout Garland County at no charge. So far this year, more than 2,000 pounds of electronics has been recycled.

Beautification and parks improvement continue in Hot Springs, as well. “Visitors to Hot Springs are greeted either by landscaped boulevards full of trees and flowering plants, sparkling lakes or brightly colored flowering hanging baskets,” the mayor wrote in the awards entry. Other beautification efforts include the installation of a Veterans Memorial, which was dedicated July 4, and the ongoing construction of a community-use pavilion at the Farmers Market, which is being funded by a grant from the Arkansas Agriculture Department.

Other community-improvement programs in Hot Springs include:

• Adopt-A-City Street, Adopt-A-County Road, Adopt-A-Shoreline and
  Adopt-A-Spot
• Adopt-A-Highway
• Arbor Day celebration
• Art in the Park
• Beauty Spot
• Cash for Trash
• Cigarette Litter Prevention Program
• Citizen Tree Board
• Discarde d’Arte recycled sculpture contest
• Earth Angel curbside recycling
• Earth Day celebration
• e-Day
• Friends of the Farmers Market
• Friends of the Parks
• Great American Cleanup™
• Great Arkansas Cleanup
• Hazardous Waste Day
• Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail
• Knock Out Litter
• Operation Clean Sweep
• Spring Fling
• Trash Bash
• Tree City USA
• What’s in Your Trash educational exhibit
• Yard, Business and Campus of the Month.

“By showcasing these accomplishments, KAB honors the pride and spirit that produces noteworthy activities, salutes community leaders and selfless volunteers whose work makes it happen, and spotlights outstanding achievements that we hope will stimulate similar programs in communities around Arkansas,” said Robert Phelps, director of KAB.

Arkansas Shine Awards entries were evaluated and ranked using performance standards for 1) creating environmental initiatives to reduce litter, encourage recycling and enhance natural beauty; 2) positively impacting economic development; 3) developing public-private partnerships to accomplish goals; 4) securing project funding; and 5) enforcing litter laws and city ordinances for property upkeep. One Arkansas Shine Awards winner was named in each of six population categories.

Other 2009 Arkansas Shine Awards recipients are Brookland (Craighead County), Fayetteville (Washington County), Lowell (Benton County), Van Buren (Crawford County) and Waldron (Scott County).

The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission is a division of
the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism is in compliance with
the Freedom of Information, Ar Code Ann., § 25-19-101 et seq.

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