Bakersfield students show area pride, keep roadsides clean
Bakersfield National Junior Honor Society sponsor Destiny Johnson (center) and students, from left, (front row) Lesley Luna, Jaylene Swensen, Allie Hollingshad, Ryder Black (back row) Massey Hayes, Trigger Schab. Also participating, but not pictured, were Mr. Jordan Grigg and the FFA. Photo courtesy of Bakersfield School.
Drivers on Highway 101 near Bakersfield High School may have recently spotted an unusual sight: clusters of cheerful teenagers in neon vests combing the roadsides with trash bags in hand and plenty of good humor to spare.
Members of Bakersfield High School’s FFA and National Honor Society spent two days tidying up the stretch of roadway around their school, ultimately collecting 24 bulging bags of litter. The tradition began years ago under MoDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program—but even though that program has since expired, the students haven’t let it stop them.
According to Bakersfield Superintendent Dr. Amy Padgett, the cleanup has become something of a community pride project.
“Students still like to do a clean up to help keep their community looking nice and to show pride in where they live,” Padgett said. “It takes a couple days now because MoDOT no longer picks up the collected trash bags from the side of the road, and our sponsors have to go back and pick up the filled trash bags.”
Those full bags then get hauled to the school’s dumpsters—creating, as Padgett put it with a laugh, “another challenge.” But in true small-town fashion, help arrived almost instantly.
D & S, the school’s trash service provider, jumped right in. Owner Robert Smith “just came right away and made sure our dumpsters were empty and ready for a regular school day,” Padgett said.
For her, the whole effort is a perfect snapshot of what makes Bakersfield special.
“When you hear the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ that really is indicative of Bakersfield,” she said. “Bakersfield is technically a village, and we are so blessed that it is filled with people who take joy in doing good.”
Between the hard-working students, the dedicated staff, and a community eager to pitch in, Bakersfield’s roadsides—and its spirit—are looking pretty spotless.