THE FLIP SIDE: Lake Cleanup More Fun Than Work

Coin Harvey’s old amphitheater isn’t the only curiosity that pops out of the water when the level of Beaver Lake drops.

There’s no telling what beachcombers will find on Saturday during the annual Beaver Lake Cleanup.

There’s a special contest, sponsored by the Outdoors section of this newspaper, for the most unusual item of funk du jour picked up during the cleanup.

First, here’s how to get involved in the cleanup, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. No need to bring trash bags. The corps provides them, as well as a free lunch and some swell door prizes.

Pick up trash bags anytime after 8 a.m. on Saturday at Hickory Creek, Prairie Creek, Rocky Branch or Dam Site parks. Then fan out around the lake on foot, by car or boat. Become treasure hunter for a day and fill a trash bag or two with litter. The only litter that’s off limits is tires. The corps says leave them be.

You’ll work up an appetite for the free lunch served to volunteers starting about 11:30 a.m. at the Grand Shelter at Prairie Creek park. There are so many door prizes given away that almost everyone walks off with some loot.

Keep your eye out for the unusual, the odd, the most unusual piece of treasure you can find along the shoreline.

Bring it to the lunch at Prairie Creek and you could win a fabulous prize - a nice grab bag of lures almost guaranteed to catch the big ones at Beaver Lake.

Thanks to War Eagle Custom Lures in Rogers and fishing guide Jeff Fletcher of Eagle Rock, Mo., for ponying up not one bag of lures, but two.

We’ll have one prize for ages 16 and under and another for treasure hunters 17 and older. Look for Park Ranger Alan Bland or yours truly at lunch and we’ll get your item entered in the contest.

Be sure your treasure can be easily carried by you only.

No big, heavy items that will cause a hernia, please.

We’ll award the prizes sometime during lunch.

While you’re picking up litter, keep an eye out for Coca-Cola bottles. Corps rangers have placed 10 empty Coke bottles around the lake shore that can be redeemed for even more prizes.

The Beaver Lake Cleanup is more fun than work. So come out on Saturday and help spruce up our lake after the summer season, get a free lunch and maybe win a prize or three.

See you at the cleanup.

FLIP PUTTHOFF IS OUTDOORS EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER AT TWITTER.COM/NWAFLIP.