Streator students turn cleanup crew after football game at Ottawa

With the Streator and Ottawa football teams breaking up postgame talks at King Field and the parking lot lined with cars heading home, six Streator students still occupied the visiting student section 15 minutes after the game Sept 1.

Bulldogs’ seniors Kirsten Peterson, Kora Lane, Rilee Talty, Charli McMullen, Ophelia Orozco and Jade Williams all were hard at work picking up trash in the student section.

“It was kind of Rilee who started it, but she really didn’t say anything, she just started doing it,” Peterson said. “When we saw what she was doing we just all joined in.”

Talty said only a few Streator students remained as the final horn sounded on the Pirates’ 41-0 victory, but as she looked around the stands there was no doubt in her mind what had to be done.

“[The student section] was a mess, and it was a mess we as a student body created. I just said to myself, ‘We can’t leave this like it is,’ ” Talty said. “We don’t leave our student section a mess after home games because it’s not our janitor’s job to pick up after us, so why should Ottawa’s janitor have to do it.

“This year at homes games we pass a trash can around to everyone towards the end of the game. But that night everyone, maybe it was because it wasn’t a home game, or the way the game went, or they just didn’t think about, but everyone kind of left.”

“We were just being respectful of someone else’s property. I still kind of feel like it isn’t that big of deal, but I also understand why people are taking it the way they are.”

—  Kora Lane, Streator High School senior

The students started a sort of bucket brigade as McMullen explained, herself in charge of the front row garbage can.

“We just started from the top row, and just kept tossing all the garbage down to the person below us,” McMullen said. “It was what you’d expect, I guess, half-eaten food, wrappers, paper and bottles. It was a rough game, so many of the students had left, but any other time most if not all of our classmates would have pitched in, I think.”

At one point towards the end of the cleanup the garbage can was getting full, but McMullen fixed the problem.

“I stood inside the can and jumped up and down to push it down to make more room,” she said with a laugh. “I nearly fell over, but It worked. We had just enough room.”

Lane said she really didn’t give a second thought to what the group had done until she received a text from Talty the following day.

“The message said, ‘Hey look ... this is us.’ ” Lane said of the social media post showing and applauding the students’ cleanup efforts. “We were just being respectful of someone else’s property. I still kind of feel like it isn’t that big of deal, but I also understand why people are taking it the way they are.

“We weren’t doing it for any acknowledgement, but it was cool to see the thankful comments.”

The overwhelming positive response from both communities on X, the former Twitter, and Facebook posts included replies of “People wonder about the future. I don’t because of kids like this” and “An extension of great sportsmanship. Way to Go!”

It also was a night fans were encouraged to wear lime green in support of Ottawa senior lineman Michael Mills, who in April was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma, a type of cancer affecting white blood cells.

“We had a sign that said, “Some things are more important than a rivalry” and wore green in support of Michael. That message is about having respect for one another and helping out any way you can.

“That night it was about leaving where we had watched the football game as clean as we could and being the best guests we could be.”