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Walnut Valley community works to clean up park after tornado

Volunteers have already made some progress cleaning the park in Walnut Valley over the course of the last three months, but there's still more to be done.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Neighbors in Little Rock's Walnut Valley neighborhood have been looking for volunteers and equipment as they continue working to fix their park that was damaged in the tornado.

Though they've made a lot of progress, there's still a lot more work to be done.

Neighbors explained that it's hard to see the park in such bad shape and they need all the help they can get to clean it up. 

"I've lived here for 40 years this past February," Vicki Williams, longtime Walnut Valley resident said.

Walnut Valley and its park are where Williams created lifelong memories with her friends and family, but it looks a lot different after the tornado hit in March.

"Walking with the dog or with little kids, the park had a lot of shade on the walking track. And now there's none. And so the walking track is too hot now to pretty much walk on," Williams described.

The park itself isn't what it used to be. 

"Our playground and the pool, and the tennis courts, but mainly the walking track. I mean, you know, it's just stuff that we miss terribly," Williams added.

Trey Rosenbaum who lives just down the road recently stepped up to help. More than a hundred volunteers from local churches brought heavy equipment in to clear trees and other big debris, but he said there's still more to do. 

"At this point, it's just kind of going out and picking up a lot of this small debris so we can get to where we can mow, leveling things out, and then repairing a lot of the playground equipment for the kids," Rosenbaum explained.

He knows the neighborhood doesn't have to face this alone. 

"I've been really encouraged by just seeing how many folks from the local churches, and a lot of my friends and family they showed up just to help out people they don't even know," he said. 

People like Megan Rugg and her church, Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, have also joined the cleanup effort. 

"We did raise funds, specifically for tornado relief in Little Rock. And this was an opportunity that we saw that could help a whole community that was impacted so badly from the storm," Rugg said.

Neighbors also said any and every bit of help is appreciated. 

"I think it's important to get out and meet your neighbors and be there for each other," Williams said.

A community cleanup event is scheduled at the park on July 15th, and if you want to help out in any way, you can call (501) 765-7707.

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