MIDDLESBORO — The employees at Smithfield were hard at work Thursday making sure the canal that runs through downtown Middlesboro was clean. This is the second year that Smithfield employees have cleaned the canal as part of PRIDE Cleanup Month.

The employees use a boat and ride along the canal to pick up garbage along the waterways.

“There are a lot of things to clean up the roadways, but not a lot (of events) to clean up the waterways,” said Smithfield Environmental Coordinator Christina Huddleston.

Smithfield employees worked on the canal from 19th street to 24th street Thursday.

“We just enjoy being able to clean it (the canal) up,” said Huddleston. PRIDE donated a dumpster this year to dispose of the garbage found in the canal.

This cleanup effort was also held in conjunction with the annual Fish Fest. The cleanup helps prepare the canal for the event, for which fish are released into the canal so that children can fish for rainbow trout. The 5th Annual Fish Fest takes place on Saturday, April 21 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Fish Fest is free and open to all children age 13 and under. There will also be food and drinks available at the event.

“We just want to get out there and show the community that we are involved in the community and the environment,” added Huddleston.

Smithfield participated in the cleanup effort last year, and received two awards for their efforts. They received the Hal Rogers PRIDE Volunteer of the Month Award, as well as the Governor’s Award, which was presented at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Smithfield was one of four company’s that received an award at the conference.

Smithfield is also a sponsor of world water monitoring day. For this event, Smithfieldemployees goes into schools and does water testing.

“Anything we can do to help the community and environment, we are dedicated to do it,” said Huddleston.