Granville, Hartford hold cleanup day

By Jaime Thomas

As cabin fever hits and everyone gets ready for spring cleaning, two area towns are looking for help tidying up as well.

Both Granville and Hartford will hold community cleanup day next Saturday, April 20.

Granville’s event is a collaborative effort between the village, the town, the county, the FFA students and the youth bureau.

Village Clerk Rick Roberts said the day gives volunteers a chance to “clean up winter’s remnants.”

“It’s areas of public use and public gathering that could use cleaning up in the springtime,” Roberts said.  He said in past years about 100 to 125 people, mainly consisting of youth, have tended such spots as Veterans Park, local cemeteries, sections of the Rail Trail and others.

And the aftermath of the project, which has taken place for at least five years, is a noticeably tidier community.

“Usually quite a bit of work gets done; it definitely makes a difference,” he said. Participating cleaners can use provided tools or their own, and t-shirts commemorating the day will be given out in the morning, according to an FFA press release. Officials request that large groups notify them in advance for appropriate sizing.

Interested volunteers can meet at Veterans Park at 8 a.m., and village and town officials will have a list ready of designated dirty spots.  At the end of cleanup there will be a barbeque lunch for volunteers in Veterans Park.

Nearby in Hartford, townwide cleanup day has been a tradition for many years, Haff said.

On cleanup day, volunteers pick up litter from road sides within the town and bring it to the Hartford highway garage for disposal.

“The scope of the cleanup can range from organized youth groups tackling entire sections of roadway to individuals picking up roadside litter just in front of their homes,” Haff said in a release.

Volunteers can meet at the highway garage at 9 a.m. and clean until the free hotdog lunch at noon.

And for the first time this year, the town of Hartford will offer a free computer and electronic waste collection site at the highway garage, where items such as computer equipment and cell phones will be accepted.

“Any effort to clean up road side litter, no matter how small, is appreciated and helps to beautify the town,” Haff said.

For more information about volunteering in Hartford, call 632-5255. For details about cleaning up Granville, call 642-2640.