Help!

The second session of this year’s DOE/Lockheed Martin Help to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park project will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Metcalf Bottoms picnic grounds.

Renovations to the picnic grounds have been ongoing since August 1996 and are nearing completion. If you think that’s a long time to restore picnic tables, project coordinator Bob Presley reminds everyone that there are some 150 tables in the area and all had to be replaced.

The project’s focus now is retimbering around the gravel pads the tables sit on and regraveling the pads. Presley said no specific skills are needed, just a desire to help a national park that is visited by millions each year, including many Lockheed Martin employees.

Although a diehard crew of some 20 workers show at every session, progress is slowed because of the small group. Presley hopes to have a much larger crew this time, stating, “The sooner we get this site done, the sooner we can move on to something else.” He also said that if you sweat at the thought of getting out in the summer heat, then bring some swimming duds and hit the nearby stream after the work session.

If you are interested in being a part of this project, contact Presley at 574-1898, or send e-mail to presleyrw@ornl.gov.