FILE PHOTO BY PHIL REYNOLDS Come one ... Even the very youngest are welcome to help in the annual Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup. The event is scheduled this year for Saturday, April 28. Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson will be in Port Aransas to kick-off the 21st annual Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 28.

Patterson will be introduced by Mayor Claude Brown at 8:45 a.m. on the beach at Avenue G.

Port Aransas residents are invited to join Patterson and volunteers from across the state for the cleanup, sponsored by the Adopt-A-Beach program and the Texas General Land Office, starting at 9 a.m.

Volunteers will clean up the beach inside the city limits as well as San Jose (St. Jo) Island. They will then be treated to lunch at Roberts Point Park.

Those who want to pick up debris on St. Jo must register with Port Aransas cleanup coordinator Bruce Reynolds at (361) 749-0215 or via e-mail at missntexas@centurytel. net. Pre-registration will insure free fare to St. Jo aboard the Jetty Boat out of Fisherman's Wharf. Volunteers should be at Fisherman's Wharf, 900 Tarpon St., to check in before the boat leaves at 8 a.m. Fisherman's Wharf is offering a discount on the fares, and the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce- Tourist Bureau is funding the balance.

Those who want to clean the beach here should meet at 8:30 a.m. on the beach at Avenue G where they will be assigned specific areas of the Port Aransas and Nueces County maintained areas as well as the south jetty.

Volunteers will be divided into groups of three and given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. All volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes and bring sunscreen and plenty of drinking water.

At noon, volunteers will be treated to lunch at Roberts Point Park courtesy of Keep Port Aransas Beautiful, Inc., the City of Port Aransas, Family Center IGA, Allied Waste-BFI, HE B, Coca-Cola Bottling, Kiwanis Club and the Omni Hotel in Corpus Christi.

Data about the trash will be used to learn more about the sources of marine debris and to help mitigate pollution along Texas' 367 miles of coastline.