OXNARD : Volunteers to Help Clear Beach Debris

Two shifts of volunteers from Oxnard civic groups will hit a two-mile stretch of the city’s beach April 25 to clear tons of debris deposited by winter storms.

“We have the debris. We have the equipment. Now all we need are the cleanup volunteers,” said Robert Holcomb of Oxnard Beautiful, the group that spearheaded plans for the effort.

Other groups helping to organize the cleanup campaign are the Oxnard Shores Community Assn. and the Oxnard Shores Neighborhood Council, with volunteers coming from the Oxnard High School Conservation Club, Sierra Linda Girl Scout Troop 549, Boy Scout Troop 3254 and a McDonald’s restaurant.

The day picked for the cleanup was the Saturday closest to Earth Day on April 22, Holcomb said.

Volunteers will be dispatched at 8 a.m. and again at 10 a.m. to clear storm debris from the beach between Oxnard State Beach Park and 5th Street.

Those turning out at 8 a.m. will assemble at 1080 Mandalay Beach Road; the 10 a.m. volunteers will meet at the state beach.

Refreshments will be served to the volunteers.

Seabees using heavy equipment from the 31st Naval Construction Regiment in Port Hueneme will assist the effort. Various city departments will provide personnel along with chain saws, rakes, trash bins and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Landfill disposal passes worth up to an estimated $4,000 will be donated by the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, with much of the gathered wood debris to be turned into chips at the district’s wood recovery area.

For information, contact Bodine Elias of the Oxnard Shores Neighborhood Council or Toni David of the Oxnard Shores Community Assn. at 984-4090, or Cindy Yslas of Oxnard Beautiful at 485-6041.