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Step Up to Clean Up is the theme for the 2024 Thompson Falls Beautification Days project. Students at Thompson Falls Elementary, Trout Creek School and Trout Creek Adventist School decorated posters following the theme, which were judged by community members last week.

"This year marks the 22nd year of the event," said Beautification Days coordinator Joni Mosher. One poster from each grade, kindergarten through sixth, was chosen to be made into flyers that will be displayed throughout the town and on the city's website. "Posters that were not chosen will be displayed in local businesses," Mosher said.

Several volunteers from the committee and the Thompson Falls Woman's Club were judges. The judges took a stack from a grade to pick what they thought displayed imagination while capturing the theme, Linda Rocheleau explained. She is a Beautification Day member. "The posters are created to show how the student would clean up the community," Rocheleau added. Students with a winning poster receive a prize.

Other judges included Catherine DeWitt, Lesley Fagerberg, Karen Gufstavsen, Cathy Mills, Linda Elliott and Marsha Hart. Joanne Burk and Mike Thilmony from First Security Bank presented prizes to the winning artists.

Seth Overbeck of Trout Creek Adventist School also had a winning poster design.

Quinn Nichols, the fourth grade winner, said she spent a few weeks making her poster. Mason Mickelson said he worked on his winning poster two days in Ms. Elliott's third-grade class. Braedon Helvey had the winning poster for kindergarten, the first-grade winner was Ida Berger, Emme Frank won the second-grade competition, Lena Nicholson was chosen for fifth grade and Seth Orebeck from Trout Creek Advenstist School won for sixth graders.

The Beautification Days event involves community efforts that include local business participation, honor society, 4-H groups, and church youth groups, according to Mosher.

"Projects include yard cleaning for the elderly or disabled, cleaning up public spaces such as trails at the mule and power parks, and students cleaning up the elementary and high school areas," she explained. "We encourage businesses to put out planters and hanging baskets. We give a Thumbs Up award to those businesses or organizations for their participation in beautification throughout the year," Mosher said. "The community has been great in volunteering to help with the project," she added. For more information or to volunteer, email [email protected].