Let’s talk trash—and learn how to get rid of it from the 4-H clubs of Bandera County.
Recall that this column featured the Pipe Creek/ Lakehills 4H Club (Bandera Bulletin, 4/16/2025) helping their neighbors clear a large dilapidated travel trailer dumped on the property of Adelina Castro, a 77-year-0ld widow and Meals-on-Wheels recipient.
They did the good deed again with some help from other 4H clubs in Bandera County on October 11. That was designated by the National 4H Council as “One Day 4H,” a day of service. This time at the home of Stella Martin in Bandera River Ranch.
The satellite disc on Stella’s roof was struck by lightning in 2023, causing a fire that destroyed electrical wiring in half of her home and ruining many of her belongings. Stella was not injured in the fire, but last year suffered a broken femur and, more recently, a heart attack. Struggling to make ends meet, she had stopped paying for home insurance prior to the lightning strike.
The burnt and soaked belongings were piled up in the front yard for almost three years while she sorted through what was worth keeping. Neighbors contacted DON’T MAKE WASTE BANDERA for help in clearing the driveway at the same time that Pipe Creek-Lakehills 4H Club was seeking a club service project for One Day 4H. This project was then selected by the 4H County Council as the Bandera County 4H project for One Day 4H.
Eleven 4H students, nine 4H parent volunteers, Kara Spangler, Bandera County 4-H Youth Program Coordinator, and next-door neighbors Sheryl and Tom Cook joined Stella in her effort to clear and clean up the driveway, front yard, breezeway, backyard, and back porch. By early afternoon, they filled a 20 yd dumpster and a large trailer of recyclable metal. It was truly a collaborative effort.
The same scenario of neighbor-helping-neighbor is being played out in Bandera County through the Yards Project, a joint effort by DON’T MAKE WASTE BANDERA and Silver Sage Hill Country Resource Center. During the Summer, Silver Sage surveyed its Meals-on-Wheels clients for those seeking help in clearing unwanted junk from their homes and lots. Twenty- one requests were received. (Bandera Bulletin, 6/25/25). To date, all but three have been resolved.
While the effort is executed totally by volunteers, there are costs involved in renting equipment and paying dump fees. A $10,000 donation was received from Pine Grate Renewables and since DMWB is a public charity, all donations for its projects— including recycling and support for road cleanups-- are tax deductible.
(Robert Brischetto is President of DON’T MAKE WASTE BANDERA. More information on their work can be found online at www.DMWB.net and on the Facebook page, Bandera Recycles. Support for the work can be sent to DMWB, PO Box 1181, Bandera, TX 78003. Volunteers can email dontmakewastebandera@ gmail.com).
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