Cumberland Falls Cleanup brings out 270 volunteers

As visitors start to pour into Cumberland Falls State Resort Park this summer to take in its majestic beauty, one thing that they will have to look at a lot less is litter thanks to the efforts of 270 volunteers Saturday, who collected 700 bags of trash during the annual PRIDE Spring Cleanup.

The bulk of the trash was collected along Hwy. 90, but volunteers also cleaned below the falls. In addition to the bags of trash, volunteers pulled out 48 tires, a freezer, a car fender liner and a plastic wading pool.

“We want to thank the volunteers who spent their morning making a difference in their community,” said Tammie Nazario, President/CEO of PRIDE, which is one of the cleanup’s organizers. “It was a beautiful morning, and most volunteers came as groups, so it was a good opportunity to spend time with classmates, friends, coworkers or fellow church members.”

Two years ago the Cumberland Falls Cleanup was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Last year, a thunderstorm and lightning caused the first effort at the event to be abruptly cancelled and forcing a make-up date the following month.

Between the two dates last year, a total of 316 volunteers took part in the cleanup picking up 618 total bags of trash in addition to other items.

“This is such an important initiative not only for us to actually cleanup the areas because April is cleanup month for May tourism, but also to teach our youth – there have been so many youth come through here – how important it is to not litter in the first place, but take responsibility and let’s all work together to make this place just beautiful. We need to just have pride in showcasing what we have here and all of our natural assets,” said Farrah Dobbs, marketing director for The Kentucky Wildlands. The Kentucky Wildlands is the tourism marketing initiative for the PRIDE program, which spans 41 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky.

Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Monhollen estimated that 800,000 to 1 million people visit Cumberland Falls State Resort Park annually.

Whitley County won the coveted Volunteer Cup, which goes to the county with the most volunteers participating. Whitley County was represented by 147 volunteers, McCreary County had 115 volunteers, and eight volunteers were from other counties.

The two largest community groups were from McCreary County. Pleasant Ridge United Baptist Church won first place with 26 volunteers, and New Liberty Church was the first place runner up with 16 volunteers.

Whitley County High School JROTC, which brought 32 volunteers, won first place in the school category. With 17 volunteers, Corbin High School JROTC was the first runner up in that category.

“It goes along with our curriculum about giving back to the community. Community service is a big part of what we do. It also gives them a sense of pride to come out and beautify something and make it look better,” added Whitley County High School JROTC instructor MSG Don Gross.

The event was a partnership among PRIDE, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, McCreary County Fiscal Court 109 Board, Whitley County Fiscal Court, US Forest Service, McCreary County Tourism, Whitley County Tourist Commission.