Altoona Area High School students turn out for Toona Tune-up
A group of Altoona Area High School students grab their rakes and head toward Garfield Park to clean up litter as part of the annual Toona Tune-up Monday. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area High School students Devlin Miller (left) and Jonah Balog spin their classmates Riley Piotti (at left, inside the Spinami playground equipment) and Lillyona Iacovella at Garfield Park. The students spent the day there cleaning and having fun together during the annual Toona Tune-up. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area High School teacher Samantha Knepp cleans up litter Monday near Garfield Park’s parking area. Knepp coordinated this year’s Toona Tune-up event in which nearly 275 students and 43 teachers took to the city’s parks and streets to beautify the neighborhoods and parks in preparation for summer vacation. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area junior Migleiry Portillo picks up a pile of litter that her classmate, Precious Rodriguez, swept up Monday at Garfield Park. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
A group of Altoona Area High School students grab their rakes and head toward Garfield Park to clean up litter as part of the annual Toona Tune-up Monday. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area High School students Devlin Miller (left) and Jonah Balog spin their classmates Riley Piotti (at left, inside the Spinami playground equipment) and Lillyona Iacovella at Garfield Park. The students spent the day there cleaning and having fun together during the annual Toona Tune-up. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area High School teacher Samantha Knepp cleans up litter Monday near Garfield Park’s parking area. Knepp coordinated this year’s Toona Tune-up event in which nearly 275 students and 43 teachers took to the city’s parks and streets to beautify the neighborhoods and parks in preparation for summer vacation. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Altoona Area junior Migleiry Portillo picks up a pile of litter that her classmate, Precious Rodriguez, swept up Monday at Garfield Park. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
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About 275 Altoona Area High School students and 43 teachers took to the city's parks and streets Monday to participate in the 13th annual Toona Tune-up event, a community service initiative aiming to beautify the city ahead of summer vacation.
The volunteers painted, pulled weeds and picked up trash at 18 locations, all in the spirit of giving back to the community and making Altoona a cleaner place to live, according to teacher Samantha Knepp, who coordinated this year's event with the Central Blair Recreation Commission.
Retired teacher Robin Deshong started the event in 2013 as a way to keep students productive during their final week of school. Last year, Knepp took over the effort to ensure the tradition lived on.
"Altoona is one of the few places I know of that has a park within walking distance of pretty much every house in the city," Knepp said. "So, if we can help keep it a little bit nicer, I think everybody really appreciates it."
Near Heritage Plaza, volunteers swept sidewalks along 11th and 12th avenues, pulled weeds in landscaped areas by a gazebo and fluffed existing mulch.
They swept the sidewalk along 14th Street at Gospel Hill Park and painted three small tables brown, according to district officials.
Along 17th Street, they collected litter from Sixth Avenue to Pleasant Valley Boulevard.
Other locations included Prospect Park, Leopold Park, Greenwood Park, Geesey Park, Valley View Park, Fairview Park, Juniata Memorial Park and Iuzzolino Park.
At Garden Heights Park, which is along Lowell Avenue, about a block behind the Plank Road McDonald's, Knepp's group of junior students pulled weeds and spread mulch for several hours before making their way to Garfield Park to have lunch and clean up litter around the paved walking path. They also cleaned the park's gazebo and pickleball courts before returning to school for dismissal.
Junior Devlin Miller lives within a few blocks from Garfield Park and said participating in the event for the first time "means a lot" to him.
"I want to make sure the park is better for my little brother and sister because they'll be coming up here sooner than later this summer," Miller said.
Miller said he visited the park a lot last summer and has fond memories of sitting with his friends, going down slides and spinning around on the playground equipment.
New memories were made Monday with his peers, Miller said.
While at the park, Miller and his classmate, Jonah Balog, spun their peers -- Riley Piotti and Lillyona Iacovella -- on a Spinami, an upright spinning playground whirl that features a central pole surrounded by several ropes, while others were using the park's swings.
Piotti said she signed up for Toona Tune-up because she wanted to enjoy the day with her peers and have fun.
"It's so much fun," she said.
Junior Rosslyn Jones removed a piece of glass from alongside the park's paved walking path that leads to the playground area and gazebo.
Near the parking area, students Migleiry Portillo and Precious Rodriguez were helping Knepp sweep up stones, leaves and litter.
"It's just a really great community project that so many students participate in. It brings them pride in their community," Knepp said of the event. "I think we make a really big dent into the things that need to be spruced up in Altoona."
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.