By Sue Moore
For many years, the newspaper collection operated by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of Troop 251 as a community service and fundraiser, was paying a nice dividend. Today they are lucky if they receive a check each month for the paper.
Scoutmaster Kevin Bordon has announced that the paper barn on Richardson south of the railroad tracks will be closing for good after the first Saturday in December.
“Due to the amount of paper we receive and money it generates, the troop committee has decided we will not continue after the first of the year,” Bordon said. “Years ago, it would generate upwards of a couple hundred dollars a month. Recently we have been receiving checks for $30 to $50. Financially it is not worth it for our organization and the recycler to pay an individual’s overtime pay to bring the trailer to Vicksburg.”
Bordon cited the impacts of curbside recycling, smaller newspapers and less frequent publication which have decreased the amount of paper the scouts receive. It has been a tradition for years in Vicksburg and unfortunately will need to end, he said.
“Thanks to all that have dropped off in the previous years. Scouts will have to look at other ways to fund their scouting career. In the past, the amount of money scouts could earn through the paper drive helped to offset the cost of scouting for the young people,” Borden lamented.
The Scoutmaster advised that people should stop dropping off the paper if there is no trailer there. “We have continually been picking up papers that are blowing around the village, starting on some Friday nights. It has been a good run for our community but unfortunately it must end,” Bordon said.