Front row, from left: HEART Academy second-graders Kerin Perez, Ari Vance, Shyloh Thompson and Mikale Unger; back row, from left: Sanitation Department workers Bernard Hammonds and Dustin Hill.

Second-graders at HEART Academy at Julian Newman Elementary School hold up a thank-you poster for workers with Athens Sanitation and Street departments. HEART students recently learned about the importance of recycling and how a sanitation truck operates. They collected snacks and made cards to also show appreciation. Pictured, from left, are second-graders Kerin Perez, Ari Vance, Shyloh Thompson and Mikale Unger, along with Sanitation Department workers Bernard Hammonds, left, and Dustin Hill.