How long have you lived in Eugene? Bethel?
I moved to the Eugene area in 1977 and have stayed here except for about 4 years living in Lincoln City. Most of my time here has been outside the city limits on Crow Rd and then 20+ years in Peaceful Valley. After selling my property there I moved to Bethel 4 1/2 years ago.
Why did you decide to join the Active Bethel Citizens board?
I was a very active parent volunteer while my children were in 4J schools and I eventually got hired by 4J as a part time community school coordinator and instructional assistant. I learned how much community support could add to the school as well as seeing the achievements of neighborhood associations surrounding them even though I did not live in those neighborhoods.
When I moved to Bethel I had very little knowledge of the community and no knowledge of a community association. I didn’t know anybody living in the area either. When I saw info about folks trying to resurrect Bethel Active Citizens I knew it would be a good thing for the area as well as an avenue for me to meet neighbors. I hoped that my past experience in the schools would be of value to the group, so I joined the effort to restart ABC. Once it got off the ground, I decided to remain a part of it and see it grow.
Why did you decide to spearhead recycling efforts in Bethel?
I started helping with events at Petersen Barn for the kids, but felt I needed something else to keep me involved. When the plastic recycling events began in coordination with Sanipac I just had to jump in. My concern for the environment and the state of the planet that we are leaving for our children is great. This is an avenue for me to do good for the community and world as a whole, as well as meet neighbors. I am really pleased with the progress of this project so far and hope it continues to grow. I have enjoyed meeting many new folks and am impressed with how many are glad to participate. I would welcome more volunteers to participate, as the experience is fun and rewarding.
I would also like to take this a step further and figure out how to clean up our streets and curtail littering. I walk my dog daily and see much trash strewn around the neighborhood. Hopefully in 2020 I can figure out how to begin an anti-littering campaign. I hope you will join me in my efforts to keep Eugene a beautiful place to live.
Interested in helping Bonnie with recycling and clean-up efforts in Bethel? She can be reached at bonbonstone@gmail.com.
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