The Neighborhood Improvement Project held a successful Cleanup Day on Saturday, June 22. The oldest Tehachapi residential area between the Tehachapi Airport on the North and train tracks to the South was the focus. Tehachapi Police and Code Enforcement Officers joined forces with members of Tehachapi Mountain Vineyard Church and Mountain Bible Church in a community cleanup effort. Waste Management provided two large roll-off bins, which filled within 90 minutes.

"We were out helping people move bulky items from their yards and help beautify their neighborhood," said Chief of Police Kent Kroeger. "We couldn't have had the impact we did without the church volunteers which then spread to neighbors coming out and helping neighbors," said Kroeger.

More than 25 volunteers from our local churches brought trucks, trailers and strong backs to help senior citizens and disabled households in the neighborhood. Many of the residents were not able or could not afford to haul off large debris in their yards. Pastor Mike Safford from Tehachapi Mountain Vineyard Church and Youth Leaders Daniel and Kirsten Cashdollar from Mountain Bible Church brought the community spirit and energy to knock out the cleanup effort in less than two hours.

The Neighborhood Improvement Project is a Community Oriented Policing project designed to improve the quality of life for residential neighborhoods. The program combines the efforts of law enforcement, the community it serves and builds stronger working relationships to aid in public safety. Additional cleanup days are in the works as part of the Neighborhood Improvement Project.

Also involved in the cleanup were Chief Kent Kroeger, City of Tehachapi staff and Councilman Phil Smith who represents that district.

Photo provided

Following the phenomenal success of the first Neighborhood Improvement Project Cleanup Day, Tehachapi City and Police Department plan a second cleanup day focusing on the same neighborhood ONLY. It will be held Saturday, July 13 from 7 a.m. to noon.