The “Paint the Town Proud” campaign got a golden sendoff Thursday as several Americorps volunteers gave the old caboose parked in the median on Plaza a new coat.
Sarah Peoples, a freshman pre-med student at Arkansas State University, initiated her campaign that will involve a weeklong paint and fix up of several residences during the week of June 22-27.
 “We’ve designated the 100 block of Anderson Street in West Helena,” Peoples said Thursday.
The volunteers, who came from several communities in Arkansas and Memphis, are part of the AmeriCorps Delta Service Corp., Peoples said.
The division of labor worked fast and efficiently as the volunteers had the entire caboose repainted in a gold color and the Union Pacific lettering and numbers in red by lunchtime Thursday.
Mayor James Valley proclaimed Thursday “Paint the Town Proud Day” in recognition of the Peoples project.
Peoples appeared before the Helena-West Helena City Council in April to outline her project.
She said financial contributions have been made thus far by Wal-Mart, Southern Bancorp and Helena National Bank.
 “We are contacting local businesses to ask for their financial assistance,” Peoples said. “We need more volunteers for that week.”