(Posted Oct. 19, 2020)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
The village of Mount Sterling hosted its second Community Clean-Up Day of the year on Oct. 17, picking up and hauling away everything from tires to furniture.
Village council’s nuisance and abatement committee arranged for a large, centrally located trash receptacle for residents to discard any unwanted items. Additionally, a crew drove around town with a truck and trailer, picking up items at the homes of residents who were unable to get items to the trash receptacle themselves.
“We completely filled two of the super-size Dumpsters with the stuff you’d expect from a fall cleanup–old couches, mattresses, furniture, discarded electronics, a tanning bed–pretty much everything,” said Andy Drake, a council member who serves on the nuisance and abatement committee. “We also collected at least 15 tires which will be recycled. All scrap metal will also be recycled. All in all, a really great day.”
The village held its first clean-up day in the spring. The goal is to hold clean-up days on a regular basis, Drake said.
“Mount Sterling is a town where we’re trying to look at every part of our infrastructure–our streets, signage, everything. We’re trying to get more on top of stuff. We have a lot of people involved who want to see the town improved, and sprucing things up is a part of that,” he said.
Council member Jay Pettey, chair of the nuisance and abatement committee, said the goal for next spring’s clean-up day is to incorporate volunteer work, such as cleaning up park areas and assisting senior citizens and other residents who could use help with projects on their properties. The committee also is looking into the possibility of collecting hazardous waste materials as part of the event.
On a regular basis throughout the year, the committee strives to work with residents to help them comply with village ordinances that address property maintenance, such as tall grass and accumulation of rubbish. Anyone who wants more information, can call town hall at (740) 869-2040. Anyone who wants to file an anonymous complaint about violations can do so by visiting the village website, www.mtsterling.org, clicking on “Nuisance and Abatement” on the left side of the home page, and then clicking on the “Contact Us” button.
Mount Sterling’s nuisance and abatement committee meets at 3 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month. The next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 4, is tentatively set to take place at town hall, 1 S. London St., depending on COVID-19 restrictions.
