Hundreds of volunteers will get their hands dirty sprucing up local parks and other parts of the city Saturday morning as they participate in the 29th annual Friends of the Parks Day and the Great Cape Clean-Up.

The event culminates a monthlong effort to keep Cape Girardeau clean, as Mayor Harry Rediger recently declared April the first Clean Up Cape Month.

The aftermath of the difficult winter, along with the activity of the Cape Girardeau Beautification Committee and Saturday's event, were reasons Rediger in late March said it seemed appropriate to declare the first of what is hoped to be an annual month of working to beautify the city.

"I just kind of want to get everybody involved during April on a cleanup blitz," Rediger said.

The city Public Works Department had a large role in the cleanup effort.

Its leaf collection program began in November and normally runs through March, but this year it was extended into April. The winter weather prevented leaves from getting raked or making it to the streets to be collected, Rediger said in March.

About 5,100 leaf pickups were made last year, with collections ending in March, said Michael Tripp, solid waste superintendent for the Public Works Department. Only about 3,800 leaf collections were made this year through the extended deadline of April 18.

The number of leaf pickups has a lot to do with how many people wish to participate, Tripp said Thursday. Some people use the leaf collection program several times a year, and others only need one pickup. Residential customers also may choose to rake their own leaves and drop them off at the recycling center, he said.

The weather also has affected when the leaves are ready to fall and whether it is early or late, Tripp said. The colder it is, the quicker the leaves fall, he said.

The number of special pickups, a service provided on Wednesdays for large, bulky items that include garage and basement debris, also is down, according to the city's website.

Each city residential customer is allowed a free special pickup once a year,

As of the fourth week of this month, special pickups were down by about 36 compared to last April, Tripp said.

The special pickups used to be scheduled throughout one week in April during regular trash routes. Residents now are able to schedule their free special pickups for any Wednesday of the year.

"April now is not as big as it used to be," Tripp said.

What has remained a large volunteer beautification effort for almost three decades is Friends of the Parks Day. The event expanded to the Great Cape Clean-Up and Friends of the Parks day three years ago, so volunteer groups aren't limited to tackling beautification projects in parks, but also throughout the city, said Brock Davis, city Parks Division manager.

Beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until noon, volunteers will pick up trash, plant flowers and trees, paint playground equipment, re-mulch playgrounds, andhelp with other beautification projects all over the city, including the Shawnee Park Center, the Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course, the Red House Interpretive Center and the Cape River Heritage Museum, Davis said.

Davis said he believes Clean-Up Cape Month has raised awareness among individuals and business owners, jogging their memories to keep their properties and storefronts clean.

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