FERRIDAY — With six days to go until the state judging for the cleanest city contest, it’s getting down to the tiniest details for Ferriday’s cleanest city effort.

The judging for the contest will be Tuesday afternoon starting at approximately 2 p.m.

The judges will be entering town from a different direction this time, Ferriday Garden Club Beautification Chair Lena Bateman said.

“(The judges) are coming in from Jonesville this time instead of from Clayton because they will be judging Alexandria and Pineville on the same day,” she said.

“Even though it is not on the (contest) route we want to make a first good impression.”

After Ferriday’s victory at district level in the cleanest city contest, which is organized by the Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Bateman said she has had numerous people from the community volunteer in the hopes of helping the town in the state judging.

“We have had some individual citizens offer their help, and we even had a farmer who has offered us some help by giving us two men to work,” she said.

The biggest way that people can help — other than picking up litter — is by taking care of their own property by picking up litter, sweeping sidewalks, mowing their grass and blowing leaves off of the sidewalks and driveways, Bateman said.

“Tuesday morning is trash day in Ferriday, and it would really help us if people would put their trash cans to the back of the houses so they won’t be visible,” she said.

But even as people take care of their own property, Bateman said Monday and Tuesday morning will be town-wide cleanup days in which as much litter as can be picked up will be and town crews will mow grass.

And everyone who wants to pick up litter is welcome to join in the effort, she said.

When the judges enter the town Tuesday afternoon, they will proceed from U.S. 84 West to E.E. Wallace Boulevard and travel to Ferriday High School, where they will turn and proceed to the Concordia Parish Library.

The Ferriday High School band will greet the judges, and Bateman said a reception to meet to the judges will be at the library.

In addition to individual residents, every Ferriday civic club, the Town of Ferriday and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office have been involved in the cleanup efforts, Bateman said.

Regardless of how the contest goes, Bateman said the main goal of the cleanup is to keep the effort going even past the judging.

“We hope it can keep on all year long,” she said. “It is just instilling that pride to not throw that trash down and if you see it — even though you didn’t throw it down — pick it up yourself.