Lincoln constituent shares plans to help clean up the town

[April 12, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

At the Tuesday night Committee of the Whole, Lincoln aldermen heard from constituent Scott Turner who is organizing a town-wide clean-up day for city right of ways.

Turner appeared before the aldermen during the public participation portion of the meeting and explained what he is planning.

He began by saying that he had recently taken a vacation trip to Colorado. While in that area one of the things he noticed right away was how clean it was. When he returned home to Lincoln he noticed in stark contrast that along the city streets there is a great deal of trash.

He said he thought someone should do something about that, and after a day or two, he decided that the "someone” could be him, so he began planning for a day when he would go around the town picking up trash scattered in ditches and on right of ways. He posted on social media that he was going to do this and invited anyone who wished to join him.

Turner said he had hoped that perhaps there would be eight or 10 of his friends who would come along, but the response he got was far beyond that. As of Tuesday evening, he said 85 people have signed on to spend the morning on April 21st cleaning up Lincoln.

Turner said that Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois was going to provide four buses for the morning. The volunteers would be divided into four groups and would head out to the far corners of town and start picking up trash.

He said the group will assemble starting at 8 a.m. on that Saturday morning in Latham Park. Everyone will register and be assigned to a bus. At 9 a.m. the groups will set off to the various parts of town. There will be four pick-up trucks, one for each bus that will travel with the group and bags of trash will be placed in those trucks.

He said that during the registration, he had solicited the help of a couple of his aunts. The four buses will have a color code and when people register they will be assigned a bus according to the color code.

Turner said that the groups would get as much done as they could in a two hour period then head back to Latham Park to wrap up with lunch.

He said that Triple A Siding and Window is providing meat that will be barbecued by Nuthatch Hill BBQ. Lincoln IGA is donating buns and chips for lunch and Chris Coyne State Farm Insurance is providing bottled water. Area Disposal has promised a dumpster to be placed at Latham Park, and also the company is providing garbage bags for the collection.

When the floor was opened for discussion Heidi Browne spoke up first saying a big “thank you” to Turner. She noted that as an alderman she hears a lot about the problems in the city, but it isn’t often that someone comes to the council with a solution.

Rick Hoefle made a similar remark and added that he would make plans to be part of the group as well. Turner said he felt that the day was not only an opportunity to do something good for the city at no cost, but it was also a day to promote community and build relationships.

City Treasurer Chuck Conzo mentioned that Latham Park is under county jurisdiction and said Turner might want to address the county board about his plan. Turner said he had spoken with Kevin Bateman, the Logan County Board member who chairs the Building and Grounds Committee for the county. Bateman had given him a nod of approval for use of the park.

Police Chief Paul Adams asked if there were measures being taken to assure the workers safety along the roadways, such as orange vests. Turner said he did not have vests, but he was asking all the volunteers to wear bright yellow shirts, and that the pick-up trucks would help provide a barrier between workers and motorists passing by. In addition, Turner said that there were no children in the group, all the volunteers would be adults or young adults.

Mayor Seth Goodman asked if there was anything the group needed from the city. Turner said his intention had been to accomplish this work without cost to the city. He added that Walt Landers with the street department was going to lend the group a few rakes.

What he doesn’t have yet are gloves for the workers, and he said if the city had some safety vests the group could borrow that would be nice as well.

Lincoln Fire Chief Mark Miller said he would provide the group with a box of ‘Nitro Gloves.” He said that would be 100 pair.

Turner also outlined the areas of focus saying the groups would work along North Kickapoo from I-55, they will clean the ditches on the west side on Woodlawn Road around the Steak and Shake, go to State Street, and at the suggestion of Landers would work along Stringer Avenue.

Turner also invited Goodman to attend the registration and asked him if he would say a few words to the group before they started out Saturday morning. Goodman said he would be there.

Turner was asked if he was still seeking volunteers and he said that he was, anyone and everyone who wishes to pitch in and help is welcome.

Anyone who would like to join this group can do so by calling Scott Turner at 217-620-4641. While walk-ins will be welcomed, contacting Turner ahead of time will help with the distribution of people, assuring sufficient transportation, and of course, having the right amount of food and water on hand at the end of the day.

Turner concluded that he’s hoping for a successful event, and if it is successful, he will be willing to do the same thing again, as long as it is a help to the city, and has the support of the community. He believes it is a very worthwhile way to spent a couple hours on a Saturday morning.

[Nila Smith]