BY KAREN BOSSICK

Celebrate the Can Man on Tuesday when the Kiwanis Club of Hailey and the Wood River Valley holds a party to celebrate a milestone in raising money for kids in the Wood River Valley.

The Kiwanis has raised $50,000 from the sale of recycled aluminum cans and they will celebrate with a chili feed and other refreshments from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Hailey Town Center West. There’ll also be some lively contests.

Recycling the aluminum cans has been a group effort, but towering above all is “Can Man” Bob Wiederrick, who has done the lion’s share of the work, housing cans at his welding studio in Hailey’s industrial park before carting them to Twin Falls to be recycled.

The Kiwanis has collected 48 tons of aluminum or 2,311,488 aluminum soda and beer cans. If smashed, they would fill two 53-foot semi-trucks, said Kiwanis member Geegee Lowe.

The money raised from the cans has been used to fund playground equipment for parks in Ketchum, Hailey, Gannett and Carey.