For Immediate Release:  March 26, 2021

Contact:  Erin Hatfield, (405) 437-8468, erin.hatfield@deq.ok.gov

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in partnership with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB), will recognize the Town of McCurtain as a top-level Oklahoma Clean Community in the coming weeks. McCurtain, long active with programs including their City-wide Cleanup, Fresh Paint Days, and a tire disposal initiative, would typically be provided a banquet and dinner; the town will instead receive the award through the mail with the ceremony being held virtually with links to tunein being provided to the press and public in advance.

McCurtain Mayor Patrik Lovell said, “McCurtain is honored to be recognized by the Department of Environmental Quality and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. We have always promoted community environmental stewardship by involving volunteers, businesses, and the local school system, conducting various environmental projects and cleanups. We’re proud of the work we’ve done and look forward to continuing to serve our community and Haskell County through continuing and expanding our efforts.”

The Town of McCurtain holds city-wide cleanup events and pushes to deter citizens and visitors from littering. Their cleanup operation annually fills several large trash roll-offs and rids the town of trash and unsightly debris. Their participation in the Fresh Paint Days program has placed fresh coats of paint on downtown area buildings that haven’t been freshly painted in many years. McCurtain, with the help of scores of volunteers, collected hundreds of pounds of litter, utilized countless gallons of paint, and spent hundreds of hours beautifying their community.

The Town of McCurtain plans future recycling events and will plant flowers and trees, in an effort to provide a clean and safe environment to McCurtain residents.

“It’s because of these events and activities that McCurtain is a cleaner community,” says David Roberts, the town’s grant administrator. “By removing trash and waste we not only beautify and showcase the best of our small town but also reduce risks to human health and the environment. I’m thrilled that our town can now be officially called an Oklahoma Clean Community.”

DEQ and KOB recognize entities that participate in multiple events which include a tire collection event annually, the Great American Cleanup and other environmental service projects. DEQ encourages entities to coordinate a community-wide cleanup. After cleanup is complete and all criteria for other service projects are met, a community can be recognized as an Oklahoma Clean Community.

More information on the Clean Communities Program is available at https://www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com/what-we-do/deq-clean-communities.html or by contacting Kelly Dillow at kelly.dillow@deq.ok.gov or 405-702-5175.

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