Residents Get Money To Cleanup Jones Creek

One Tulsa neighborhood hit the jackpot Saturday. They now have $20,000 to clean up what has been an eye sore for many years. <br><br>Dick Tankersley never knows from day to day what will be or won't

Saturday, September 18th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

One Tulsa neighborhood hit the jackpot Saturday. They now have $20,000 to clean up what has been an eye sore for many years.

Dick Tankersley never knows from day to day what will be or won't be in his backyard when he goes out. Right behind his West Tulsa home is the deteriorating Jones Creek channel.

"A lot of things just come down the creek. There's shopping carts, there's tree limbs and grass and it all just kind of accumulates," says Tankersley.

Accumulating debris isn't the only problem the channel brings.

"We have raccoons, rabbits, rats and squirrels... there's no problem except for the rats," says Tankersley.

Residents in the Leisure Lane neighborhood association say they have called city and state leaders for years trying to get it fixed.

"I just pretty much gave up on trying to get anything major done, but it looks like maybe we'll get something done maybe," says Tankersley.

State Representative Mary Easley says she's been listening.
And was successful in getting the residents the state money to help cleanup the creek.

"And so nagging women get things done sometimes -- cheering," says Easley.

Now the Tulsa County Conservation District will take the money and combine it with city bond money to fix-up the creek. Jones Creek isn't the only local waterway in need of help.

"I think a lot of our creeks in town are this bad, pollutants, people don't realize that just dirt washing in the storm drains people doing things," says Craig Thurmond.

The funding mandates that the cleanup be complete within 2 to 5 years. Neighbors say after all of this time they are anxious to see Jones Creek flowing smoothly.

Representative Easley says no start date has been set for the project, but she hopes work on Jones Creek will begin soon.