by Spc. J. Myles Kendrick

        GORNJI, LOVOC, Kosovo (Army News Service, Sept. 9, 1999)
- Standing along the banks of the polluted Livoc River here, the
"Bonecrushers" of 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 77th
Armor Regiment, gazed at rusty bodies of old cars, buckets,
bottles and rotting vegetation.
        Unit members said they realized the river clean up
community project would take the cooperation of all ethnic
groups, and by assisting the ethnically mixed village went on to
show that Albanians and Serbs can work together.
        "We sat down with town leaders and made a list of the
things they wanted done," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Phillips,
platoon sergeant. "We chose one of the three top priorities and
turned it into a community project."
        According to Phillips, the Albanians cleaned a
one-kilometer section of the river and the Serbs cleaned another
section.
        Trash collected by the civilian and Army co-op filled
two Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks from Headquarters
and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment.
A HEMTT was also used to remove the rusty remains of an
automobile.
        "This mission will benefit the children here. The river
was so polluted, the children could easily catch diseases. It's
good work for the community's health and welfare," said Sgt.
Corey Clement, squad leader.
        "The cooperation between the community and (Kosovo
Force) has been very good," said Ramadan Kurteshi, a town
leader.  "Besides providing security, Kosovo soldiers have also
expressed their willingness to help the community."
        "I've been satisfied with KFOR's work since the first
day they arrived," said Ibrahim Salihu, a town leader. "In the
future, we will keep the river clean.
        "During the past ten years, the village's infrastructure
was disrupted because of the political situation.  Services such
as proper garbage disposal and the health-care system
deteriorated," Salihu said, "The town's inhabitants were too
busy dealing with everyday life under the Serbian policies to
organize a community effort.  That is why the river is so
polluted now," he added.
        "This is the first step to show KFOR that Albanians and
Serbs are working together to clean up their community," said
1st Lt. James Taumoepeau.  "We are planning other projects for
the future and ensuring this community has the assets to
maintain the cleanup."
        According to Salihu, the community hopes to arrange a
contract with the Gnjilane district government to haul their
trash monthly.  "If not, we will organize it ourselves and use
our tractors to pull our garbage to the dump in Pasjak," he
said.
        The town is also planning to repair its secondary roads,
repair the school and upgrade the town's electrical system,
according to Kurteshi.
        "This type of mission is very rewarding," Taumoepeau
said.  "You immediately get to see the effects of your work.
It's rewarding seeing the Albanians and Serbs working together
also.  Getting the river clean will take a lot of work but we'll
tackle it in small steps. We plan on doing this every weekend
until it's clean."
        (Editor's note: Kendrick is a writer with the Task Force
Falcon Public Affairs Office.)