POSTPONED - Conasauga River Watershed CleanUp 2017

(Dalton, GA, October 27, 2017) –  Due to inclement weather the 23rd Annual Conasauga River Watershed CleanUp has been postponed until Spring 2018.

For information about when the event will be held call Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful at 706-278-5001, visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org, or join the organization’s page on Facebook www.facebook.com/KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.

One of the largest local volunteer events in the community the annual Conasauga River Clean-up is hosted in partnership with several local non-profits, businesses, and environmental organizations during United Way’s Make a Difference Day. Last year 290 volunteers from Whitfield County and Murray County removed more than 10,000 pounds of garbage from 7 locations. 

2017 School Beautification Grant Winners

(Dalton, GA, September 15, 2017) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the winners of the third annual School Beautification Grants for 2017. The committee for Beautification and Community Greening established the grant program in celebration of National Planting Day, which took place September 8 and is celebrated thru the end of November.

Public and private schools in the Dalton, GA and Whitfield County were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to planting native plants and beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or provide an educational opportunity related to plants. Beautification grants range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $250.

This year the following ten schools were awarded a grant for their National Planting Day project:

1.    Blue Ridge Elementary School: Bringing New Life to Our Garden

2.    Dalton Middle School: Pollinator Garden for Bird Sanctuary

3.    Park Creek School: STEAM Garden Georgia Style

4.    Dalton High School: Renovation Recovery!

5.    Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy and Phoenix High School: School Beautification

6.    Antioch Elementary School: Courtyard Beautification

7.    Morris Innovative High School: First Impressions

8.    Tunnel Hill Elementary: Recreating the LeVerne Damron Reading Garden

9.    Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology: Bringing the Beauty from Within to the Surface

10. Roan School: Garden Club Pollinator Project

Projects will be completed by December 1 and each recipient will submit a project summary by December 19 to showcase their work. Visit Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s website www.KeepDaltonWhtifieldBeautiful.org or follow them on Facebook to get updates on the progress of these projects.  

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Learn more about this event at www.kab.org.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Mural to Remain Downtown

Press Release

Contact: Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, 706-278-5001, Lswafford@dwswa.org

June 30, 2017

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Mural to Remain Downtown

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful (KDWB) was informed Wednesday that the convenience store which hosts it’s mural, “An Earth Worth Saving” by local artist Henry Green, is scheduled to be remodeled by the new owners as part of their ongoing rebranding efforts. The much-needed face-lift included painting over the mural so the building could comply with the new branding guidelines. However, an agreement has been reached with the new owners to keep the mural as is while still remodeling the rest of the store.

MAPCO’s Vice-President of Operations, Dave DeSerio stated, “We have recently been made aware of the concern the Dalton community has in regards to the beautiful mural at one of our MAPCO locations. We want to ensure Dalton that the painting will not be removed and we are proud to be a part of such a creative community. As your neighborhood store, we support local efforts and we’re looking forward to ways in which we can further get involved in Dalton, GA.”

The mural, which was officially announced last April during a ribbon cutting ceremony, is located at the MAPCO convenience store on 304 N. Thornton Ave. in Dalton across the street from the Dalton Green and First Baptist Church. It was commissioned in 2015 in partnership with 1000 Words Dalton Art Project, then completed in early 2016.  

Executive Director for KDWB, Liz Swafford, has been in contact with MAPCO corporate management this week in an effort to come to a favorable agreement regarding the immediate future of the public art project. “Our discourse with management has been very positive. They understand that the mural is important to the residents of this community and will continue to honor the agreement we had made with the previous owners,” said Swafford.

KDWB chairman Anthony Cline started a petition on Causes.com Wednesday evening to provide an area for residents to show their support and express their desire to preserve the mural during store renovations. Several residents, Dalton City Council and Mayor Mock also sent letters to show their support for keeping the mural on the side of the store.

“The show of support for public art and the recycling and sustainability message of the mural has been amazing,” added Swafford. “KDWB is thankful for your support. We look forward to working on more public art projects with 1000 Words in the future.”

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Receives Awards for 2016 Activities

Pictured are Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board members with the awards for 2016. Front row (left to right): Karey Williams, Liz Swafford, Anthony Cline. Middle row: Patricia Edwards, Scott Delay. Top row: Phillip Pfeifer, Chris Cochran, Dirk Verhoeff, Jennifer Jefferies, Joe Thomas, Aaron Marcelli, Clyde Taylor.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, a local non-profit dedicated to building a more vibrant community has received two awards in recognition of its activities in 2016. The group received the Governor’s Circle Award on behalf of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, and the President’s Circle Award on behalf of Keep America Beautiful. Both awards recognize exemplary performance by certified affiliates in reducing litter, minimizing waste and greening local communities.

The statewide award recipients were presented at the State Capitol as part of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s Annual Legislative Day in February. The President’s Circle awards were presented at the Keep America Beautiful National Conference in January.

“The affiliates receiving the Governor’s Circle Award represent the best of community improvement efforts”, said Sarah Visser, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, “they are doing the hard work every day to keep their communities economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable”.

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful COO Becky Lyons. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions that help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound.”

Last year the volunteers and board members facilitated several community activities including the annual Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling event, beautification grants to local schools, the Magic of Recycling show for elementary schools, Adopt a Mile cleanups, and the annual river cleanup. They also provided litter prevention and beautification information to residents at the Prater’s Mill Fair, Business Expo, and Dalton State, among other activities.

Visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org to register for the KDWB newsletter, follow us on Facebook, or call 706-278-5001 to find out how you can volunteer or participate in upcoming events.

“Curious George Discovers Recycling” Heading to a Little Free Library Near You

Liz Swafford and Jessica Trivino display several copies of the book “Curious George Discovers Recycling” in front of a Free Little Library box. The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s Recycling Center donated 24 books to the Little Free Library Program hosted by the United Way of Northwest Georgia in honor of Earth Day.

Dalton, GA – A curious monkey is making his way into 22 Little Free Library locations in Whitfield County just in time for Earth Day thanks to a donation by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s Recycling Center. Liz Swafford, Recycling & Education Program Coordinator at the Authority, met with Jessica Trivino, United Way of Northwest Georgia’ Director of Donor Engagement & Strategy, to give 24 copies of the children’s book, “Curious George Discovers Recycling” released just this year.

In the book, George discovers that not everything in his garbage bag is really trash, some of it can be recycled and be transformed into new products. With a recycling contest underway, George is determined to help in ways only a monkey can. The full color story book for lower elementary aged kids also includes tips and crafts they can try at home. 

The purpose of the Little Free Library is to provide a place where all readers in the community can share books throughout the year. Participants can leave books to share with others in the box and take a book they would like to read. Volunteers check each box to make sure there are always books available.

To learn more about the Little Free Library program hosted by the United Way visit: www.ourunitedway.org. And, to learn more about recycling in Dalton, and Whitfield County, visit the Authority’s Recycling 101 page online: www.dwswa.org/recycling-101.