Help is being sought to clean up the Missouri River and restore the St. Joseph area as a true recreational town.

Missouri River Relief, an organization based in Columbia and Kansas City, plans to dedicate June 26 to reconnect people to the river through hands-on, on-the-river cleanup and education, according to Steve Schnarr, event organizer. The group stopped in St. Joseph in 2004, and more than 100 volunteers collected about 5 tons of trash.

“We are trying so hard to bring attention back to the river,� said Ken Reeder, a sponsor and scout for Missouri River Relief. “We are a river town. and it’s sad to think over the last hundred years, we have turned our back on it.�

Cleanup efforts will begin June 26 at the French Bottoms boat access ramp. The relief group is still looking for volunteers and sponsors to make the event a success.

“Everyone in St. Joe has driven over (the Missouri River) so many times on the bridge or walked next to it, but now, with a chance to get out on it, it feels completely different,� Mr. Schnarr said.

Organizers will pick up volunteers on the banks of the river at 9 a.m. and take them to previously scouted locations. Volunteers will then spend time picking up debris from the banks.

“If people are handicapped or are simply unable to get on the boat, we have plenty of other jobs they can do,� Mr. Schnarr said. “No one will be turned away.�

Volunteers are welcome to come to the event at any time, but those wanting to help on the river banks should be at the French Bottoms by 9:30 a.m. At noon, the trash will be separated and removed from the French Bottoms by the city.

“The most common thing that we find on the river is plastic bottles and Styrofoam,� Mr. Schnarr said. “We find a lot of tires on the river and anything that costs money to get rid of, we find.�

Recyclable items will be removed and recycled, but despite the volunteer hours, removal of the trash and other expenses add to the cost. The St. Joseph cleanup effort will cost from $9,000 to $11,000, and organizers are still looking for sponsors.

“Spending a day on the river and working to beautify it creates a connection and a desire to care for the river, greater than anything I have ever experienced,� Mr. Schnarr said.

Last November, the City Council contracted with Al J. Mueller Construction Co. to build a 200-foot boat dock south of the French Bottoms access ramp, which should be completed soon.

“The common, average person has been deprived of (river activities) and now, boating is the most affordable, family activity anyone should be able to do,� Mr. Reeder said. “Sometimes (cleanup efforts) feel like a thimble in the ocean, but who’s going to dip the first thimble in the ocean if it’s not us?�

For more information, log onto www.riverrelief.org/event/st-joseph-missouri-river-clean-up-2010/.

Kristin Hoppa can be reached at kristin.hoppa@npgco.com.