Getting exercise and making new friends while cleaning up the community. Join Cooleemee’s plawking group. (L to R)  Keziah Martin, Joey Shore, Tangela Dalton, Lela Ijames, Josh Ijames

On Sunday, February 4th, there was a lot of plawking (picking up trash while walking) going on on the streets of Cooleemee. Josh Ijames, Lela Ijames, Tangela Dalton, Keziah  Martin, and Joey Shore were carrying black trash bags, and they were full of trash. That’s what people do when they love their community, they want to get some exercise and make new friends while picking up trash.

Josh Ijames and his wife Lela have created a Cooleemee Action Forum, which is a neighborhood organization that allows citizens and non-citizens who have interests, likes, or beliefs in the town to be able to participate more openly in a public forum. While still in the beginning stages of creating the forum, plawking will continue on Sundays at 2 p.m., meeting behind the Cooleemee Fire Department.  When others join the group, the time may change.  

Annual meetings will occur with structured monthly meetings with leadership in place with an organized agenda.  With full leadership in place, plans are to achieve non-profit status and obtain the ability to write their own grants. 

For updates, follow Cooleemee Action Forum on FaceBook.

Tangela Dalton has been very busy obtaining her non-profit status.  She lives in Cooleemee and is motivated to create a youth center.   She plans to call it Prosperity Youth Center of Cooleemee.  There is an array of services to offer, like essential life lessons, meeting new friends, movie nights, dancing nights, and workshops.  She has a building in mind, but that hasn’t come to fruition yet.

Plawking is a fun way to meet people, get some exercise, and show some love for your town.  You can still be a plawker all by yourself; just pick up trash while you walk, and don’t forget to take a trash bag.

Feel free to contact me at cooleemeenews@gmail.com or call 336.250.1133. I would love to hear from you.