On October 18, at 9:30 am. Maine West students met at the Des Plaines water tower on Camp Ground Road. They proceeded to clean up the Des Plaines area, mainly the "skuzz" of the Des Plaines River.

Paulette Jados '71 commented, "Groups of kids went to the banks of the Des Plaines River in parts where it's the swampiest and got out toys, oil tanks, metal, tires, broken trees and branches, pieces of clothing, and other junk. We found and picked up what we could. We wanted to concentrate mainly on the whole city and see what the outcome would be." Paulette is one of the people in charge of the "Clean Up Des Plaines" committee which is associated with Student Council.

When she was asked why there is a "Clean Up Des Plaines" campaign, she answered, "Because students want to get involved in student activities and do something useful and helpful. since they can't vote."

She went on to say that the city provided Hefty bags and all the kids who came to clean the city were divided into groups of 10. Then each group was assigned to one specific area along the river, and they picked up all the trash and junk they could carry. One of the groups carried a whistle, and when they had picked up most of it, they called all the groups back to a certain spot along the road with their filled bags. They lined the road with the trash bags, and some trucks came and picked the bags up and took them away.

She also added that there was a "Clean Up Des Plaines" held last year which had a turnout of about 130 kids. "This year we expected over 100 kids. We've had more than enough publicity, and a lot of kids should know about it," Paulette commented. She went onto say that they would like to have a lot more kids participate next year if it is held again. They'd like it to be similar to the "Hike for the Hungry," "when it's done for a good cause, so that we can be proud of ourselves for doing something about the 'skuzz' of Des Plaines."