The students, along with 18 staff members, were weeding, mulching, painting benches, picking up trash and making the borough look nicer at about 10 locations, including Lake Rowena, the Cambria County Historical Society and Veterans Park, Kimball Park, the Penn Eben Park gazebo and downtown Ebensburg.

Current seniors Alaina Long, Roy Lian and Emma Kasecky created the event last year as part of their senior project and organized this year’s efforts, according to the school’s principal, Lisa Asashon, who said the students are working with leaders in the sophomore class so the project can continue for years to come.

Lian, who is also a junior member of the Ebensburg Borough Council, received public praise for leading the initiative alongside his peers during Monday night’s meeting from Mayor Randy Datsko and Jerry Poruban, the borough’s public works director.

“I’d like to thank Roy personally,” Poruban said while giving his report to the council. “Not only is it beneficial to the community, but you’d be surprised how much stress that takes off my department.”

Central Cambria sophomores Bella Anderson (left) and Ashley Edmiston wash dishes Tuesday at the Cambria County Historical Society. The students were participating in the high school’s community service project, “Brighten the ‘Burg.” Mirror photo by Matt Churella

According to Lian, Long got the idea for the project from her mother, who reportedly participated in a similar event in Altoona.

The students were inspired to bring the service idea to Ebensburg, he said, noting it builds a sense of community among the students and gives back to the borough’s residents and business owners who’ve supported the district with fundraisers and projects.

“It’s something nice that we wanted to do to give back to the community and to the businesses that have been helping us,” Lian said.

Danea Koss, the borough’s community development director, was out and about with her assistant, Ella Persio, Tuesday afternoon at Veterans Park, preparing the site for a group of students to beautify once they returned from their lunch break.

Koss said the students’ support for two years in a row has been nothing short of amazing. The number of students who participated this year compared with last year has reportedly doubled, she said.

Central Cambria sophomore Julie Black fills her shovel with mulch at the Cambria County Historical Society. Black was one of more than 200 students who volunteered to take part in the annual “Brighten the ‘Burg” community service project Tuesday. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

“I am all about getting the kids involved in the community,” Koss said, adding the students may decide to live in Ebensburg after graduation and raise their families there someday. “I love that they’re making that connection, those core memories to their hometown.”

Science teacher Kayley Zolocsik said there were even more students who wanted to participate in this year’s event but weren’t able to because the district didn’t have enough coverage to send students to more places.

“Hopefully next year it could be like a schoolwide thing that we can do,” Zolocsik said, noting students in grades nine through 12 were able to volunteer their time.

Senior Garrett James said that was something he looked forward to doing after having fun last year. James was spreading mulch at Kimball Park alongside sophomore Luke Petrick, who wasn’t afraid to get his knees dirty or break a sweat to help out.

“I work for a landscaping company, so I feel right at home doing all of this,” Petrick said. “It’s a really neat experience and I love doing it.”

Central Cambria senior Garrett James (left) and sophomore Luke Petrick spread mulch at Kimball Park, near the intersection of North Center Street and East High Street in Ebensburg Borough. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

Over at the Cambria County Historical Society, sophomore Julie Black was spreading mulch with a group of her peers, who were mostly sophomores but included a couple juniors.

The students were smiling and having a fun time together as they planted flowers, pulled weeds and changed the mulch.

Inside the historical society, sophomores Bella Anderson and Ashley Edmiston were cleaning dishes and storing them away.

When asked how they got put on dish duty, Anderson chuckled and said, “We don’t know.”

The students were just happy to help where they were needed, Edmiston said, noting she and Anderson were having fun together. Both said they felt honored to be part of a project that served the community.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.