HUNTINGTON BEACH : Teens Are Proud to Help the City Clean Up Its Act

Clutching a broom in her hands, 17-year-old Patty Montejano swept the gutters and alleyways along Utica Avenue, leaving piles of snack wrappers, paper cups, cigarette butts and broken glass.

As Montejano pushed the industrial-size broom, two other youths, one with a big shovel, the other with a trash bag, followed to pick up the many piles of trash.

“At least we’re doing something for the neighborhoods,” said Montejano, a junior at Ocean View High School. “They’re so messy and dirty. . . . At least we try to make it look better.”

Montejano is among 12 teen-agers involved in a city program known as LOGOS--Learning Opportunities for Growing Outstanding Students.

For minimum-wage pay through a federal grant, the students work after school and on vacations to improve their neighborhoods.

“The strategy is to have kids go into these areas and have pride in their neighborhoods,” said Lisa Moreno, the city’s housing finance specialist.

Moreno said the 10-year-old program also gives students responsibility, builds self-esteem and encourages them to pursue higher education.

Neighborhoods that have been involved in the program include include Oak View, off Slater Avenue near Beach Boulevard; Amber Leaf, off Delaware and Main streets; the Washington area, north of Oak View off Warner Avenue; and the Florida-Utica area, off Florida Street and Utica Avenue, near Beach Boulevard.

Linda Daily, a city department senior analyst who oversees the program, said in a one-year period ending in June, students collected 1,735 pieces of furniture, filled 4,197 trash bags and removed more than 2,000 graffiti markings.

Thanh Nguyen, 19, who spent 3 1/2 years in the program and is now a crew supervisor, said students work every day, collecting truckloads of discarded mattresses, sofas, refrigerators and chairs.

Alfredo Pena, 15, said he hopes the group’s efforts will sway people from littering.

“We want people to learn to respect their community,” said the Ocean View High School sophomore.

Michael Mai, 18, also a crew supervisor and Golden West College student, said he believes the group’s immediate cleaning work has contributed to a decline of graffiti in the neighborhoods.

The students said the pay they receive, between $4.25 to $4.99 an hour, is an incentive. But more than the pay, students say that keeping neighborhoods clean is rewarding.

“It feels good to have a neighborhood look better. It makes people happy so they’ll have a better life,” said Danny Guzman, 14, an eighth-grader at Marine View Middle School. “It makes me feel more proud of my neighborhood to have it clean.”