When fans arrive this fall to watch their favorite Slidell Youth Football Association team play, they will be greeted with new signs informing them that the recreation area is now a tobacco-free, litter-free zone.

This includes all three fields located at 3158 Terrace Ave.

“We have spent the off season improving the football fields, and we want to keep them looking nice,” said Kevin Swann, SYFA board chairman. “That’s why we are asking people not to smoke or dip while here and to pick up their trash when they leave. This is everyone’s park, and we need everyone’s help.”

Pictured is a portion of the Slidell Youth Football Association fields, which is now a tobacco-free, litter-free facility. SYFA partnered with Keep Slidell Beautiful, an organization aimed to improve the quality of life in Slidell. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

SYFA has partnered with Keep Slidell Beautiful this year, an organization that aims to improve the quality of life in Slidell by focusing on litter prevention, beautification, community improvement and waste prevention. KSB has provided additional trashcans, as well as cigarette receptacles, which will be placed at the front of the park so that people can extinguish and throw away their cigarettes before entering.

KSB Executive Director Bill Mauser said the efforts contribute to a quality of life issue.

“Our partnerships with the business community, civic organizations, families and individuals, the city Public Works and Recreation Departments, homeowner groups, schools, faith-based organizations and now the SFYA are paramount in being successful in keeping our city clean,” said Mauser.

The group will also provide a banner reminding people to “pick up litter and make Slidell glitter.”

Registration for the fall season continues this weekend and Aug. 1-2. Times are Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Parents registering their child for the first time must have their birth certificate, and the child must be present to weigh-in.

More information can be found on the SYFA Web site, www.slidellyouthfootball.net.