Owensboro’s neighborhood alliances were created 20 years ago and annual neighborhood cleanups have been taking place since their inception.
The City of Owensboro’s Sanitation Department provides the free service to participating neighborhood alliances, allowing citizens to place approved items at their curb for disposal.
According to City Hall coordinator Adrienne Carrico, it took a while for all 12 alliances to participate, but this year, 11 of the 12 have gotten on board with the event.
“The two largest participants have been Apollo Area Alliance, which collected 23.61 tons this year and Dugan Best Neighborhood Alliance, which collected a record-setting 46.55 tons,” Carrico said. “Both of these alliances passed out over 2,000 flyers throughout their areas.”
Carrico said that of the seven cleanups that have taken place this year, the Owensboro Sanitation Department has collected 105 tons of trash from city neighborhoods.
“The neighborhood cleanups make a huge impact in our community, by getting rid of junk that would otherwise be cluttering our neighborhoods,” she said.
Dugan Best Neighborhood Alliance Chairperson Bobby McCormick has been volunteering with the group for more than 15 years. A retired Alcan Aluminum electrician, McCormick said he enjoys spending his time volunteering in his community. But even this long-time Dugan Best volunteer was surprised at the amount of trash collected from the area.
“It was amazing the amount of trash that was out there,” he said. “I have never seen so many tires and mattresses.”
McCormick commended the City for the program.
“If they didn’t pick it up, they would just find it out there eventually,” he said. “They are doing a great job of keeping the city clean.”
While McCormick is proud of the record-setting haul this year, he is most proud of serving the area.
“This is my neighborhood and I like to see it clean,” he said. “I think it’s everyone’s job to look after where they live.”
The City of Owensboro Sanitation Department has four more neighborhood cleanups this year, although Dugan Best’s 46.55 tons of trash will be a hard number to beat. Those with questions are encouraged to call the sanitation department at 270-687-8760.
