Libby teen, LOR gives Jerry Dean Park a helping hand

It’s been a little more than a decade since long-time Libby educator Gerald “Jerry” Dean died, but one Libby teen is working to keep his namesake park a clean place for area residents to enjoy.

Fifteen-year-old Crystalina Noble recently took the initiative to keep the park in orderly fashion.

“It’s a place I go a few times a week and I like to hang out there,” Noble said.

But Noble decided the trash and litter that was left needed to go, so in February she began walking with her own broom and trash bags nearly a mile from her home to clean the park three to four times per week. Each trip required her to carry trash to and from a distant dumpster multiple times, a draining effort that she thought would be easier if the park had trash bins. 

“Someone said I should talk to Tabitha Viergutz about getting trash cans and we were able to get the money to buy some heavy duty cans,” Noble said. 

LOR’s funding helped Libby’s most dedicated local purchase trash bins for the park and put up a sign encouraging residents to keep the space clean, clearing the way for more residents to visit.

“It’s actually one of my more favorite projects since I began doing this,” Viergutz said. “It shows it doesn’t always take a lot of money to do something good for the community.”

A LOR grant of just $171 paid for the new cans.

“Crystalina Noble has been a great help at Jerry Dean Park,” Libby Superintendent of Schools said. “Unfortunately, there has been vandalism and a lot of garbage left that detracts from the beauty of  the park. Crystalina has worked to provide garbage cans through the LOR Foundation and she has donated lots of hours of her own keeping the area up to her standards. A big thanks to Crystalina and the LOR Foundation for helping our community be our best!”

Noble said vandals have ripped the cans off the wall and dented others, but she is not deterred.

“The cans are heavy duty and they can take a beating,” Noble said. “We’re going to put more signs up and trying to get people to take care of the park.”

Dean spent 33 years in the Libby Public Schools system, mostly as a principal. He worked to establish the community park next to the former McGrade School and it was named in his honor after he retired.