The public is invited, and candidates challenged, to attend this year’s Pick it up Picayune clean-up effort.

Every year since Hurricane Katrina the city has been holding the event to get the public involved in keeping the city clean. This year’s event is planned for Saturday from 9 a.m. until, said Daryl Smith, Picayune’s Superintendent of Grounds and Beautification.

Picayune many times is the first Mississippi city seen by people traveling north from Louisiana along Interstate 59, so it is important to give a good first impression, Smith said.

“You got to take pride in where you live,” Smith said.

Interested participants can pick up bags at city hall Saturday morning and drop off the filled bags at points throughout the community. Drop off points will be at Fire Station 1 on Adcox Rd., the parks on East Canal Street, Neal Road and Rosa Street, the median on Martin Luther King Boulevard and the pump station on Charlotte Drive.

Trailers donated by Coastal Waste will be at Cooper Road, the corner of Norwood and Third Street behind the football stadium and at the corner of Mitchell Street and Haugh Avenue, across from Fire Station 2.

Smith challenges all candidates running for city office to come out and lend a hand.

In the event of inclement weather, the clean up effort will be moved to an as yet undetermined date. Smith said he thanks Coastal Waste for their donation of trailers.