By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
October 12, 2011

Another neighborhood clean-up is around the corner, but this time, it involves the entire Historic Northeast community.

“One of the issues that came up repeatedly has been trash and how bad it makes the neighborhood look,” said Leslie Caplan, chair of the Public Safety Committee with Northeast HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Public Safety).

During the HELP committee meeting, the members decided to organize a community-wide cleanup on Oct. 29 and include all of the neighborhood associations.

“We’re trying to do it as an entire Northeast-wide initiative,” Indian Mound Neighborhood Association President Katie Greer said. “We thought it would be great to work together and pool our resources.”

Pooling resources also simplifies the process for contacting the city to arrange for dumpsters and bulky item pickup, she said.

Asked what she’d like to stress to Northeast residents, Caplan said, “It is each of our responsibility to make our community liveable and presentable and to take care of the resources that we have for ourselves and for future generations.”

“Each of us can make a difference. It may seem like a little contribution, but it can make a big difference.”

The community-wide clean-up will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 29.

For bulky item pickup, residents must schedule ahead by Oct. 24. Place bulky items near the curb no earlier than Oct. 27. To schedule pickup, contact Leslie Caplan at ldcisme328@gmail.com or call (816) 326-8669. If you need assistance hauling your bulky items to the curb, contact Caplan.

For yard waste drop-off, two parks will be available Oct. 29: Budd Park, St. John and Hardesty, and Concourse Park, St. John and Benton. A trailer for used tires will be available at Budd Park.

Trash may also be bagged in a city issued blue trash bag and placed curbside without penalty. Trash bags will be available for free at Concourse Park and Budd Parks or through your neighborhood association contact that day.

Volunteers are also encouraged to pick up trash throughout their neighborhood and to help unload trucks at the parks. Those with pickup trucks and trailers are asked to help with hauling debris to the parks.

To clear trash from streets and empty lots, rakes and brooms are recommended.

Latex gloves will be provided for picking up trash.

For more information, contact your neighborhood association and for volunteers outside Northeast, contact Katie Greer at President.IMNA@gmail.com.