By BRANDON WORF

bworf@dailynews.net

The neighborhood improvement group Hays Neighbors had its second-annual large-item cleanup effort last week. The group's efforts resulted in more than 5 tons of items being hauled away.

"I was amazed with the amount of tonnage we recovered this time," said Marcia Bannister, the group's secretary. "A few PR students distributed fliers beforehand, and so the students set out some of their stuff ahead of time."

The cleanup was Friday, and while the day after finals is typically a day for relaxing and stress release for those not packing for home, a handful of students from Alpha Gamma Rho got a pretty good workout. Their efforts netted more than 5 tons of debris, trash, appliances, furniture and other items left in the alleys by students and other residents in the college-area neighborhoods. Seven truckloads of tree limbs, brush and yard debris were transported to the city compost site.

"We are aware that this area is seen as the gateway to Fort Hays State University and the face of Hays during Wild West Fest," said group member Paul Wildeman. "We want our neighborhood to look its best for these events."

Dubbed the Large Item Klean-up Effort by the Hays Beautification Committee, the event was helped further through some assistance by the city and county governments. Hays Public Works Director Brenda Herrman agreed to absorb the fees for the municipal waste portion, and Mike Graf, Ellis County public works director, also waived the fees for all white metals, construction and demolition waste, and even e-waste.

"The neighborhood is pretty clean and respectable after the cleanup this year," Bannister said. "Even if there is some trash on the sidewalks, some people are working on that already."