Another successful HMP Alley Clean Up is in the record books. Neighbors young and young at heart came out to clean our alleys and streets. We even had one very dedicated and loyal former neighbor come out early on Saturday morning to help clean our alleys and streets. Jerry Johnson came to the cleanup, even though he no longer lives in HMP his heart remains here. Jerry told our “Titan of Trash” Dick Luchtman that he sat up straight in bed at 5AM, panicked, as he was dreaming that he had missed the alley cleanup! Thank you Jerry Johnson for your continued support of Historic Meridian Park.
It was a perfect day for a Clean Up! Long’s Donuts, hot coffee and orange drink were served at 9AM, it was sunny all day, no rain, and eventually in the 50s by 11AM. We had seven kids all working with Karla Johnson cleaning up the streets, while the adults and older “kids” worked in the alleys. KIBI provided a huge dumpster, which neighbors filled. We were fortunate; there was not a lot of trash in the alleys, just a few TVs and chairs, no refrigerators, and lots of leaves, and branches.
From Left: Nathneal Smith, Jasmine Burget, Aiyanna Ross, Devon Rhys, Karla Johnson, and Noah Rhys
HMP neighbor Lee Rhys suggested that since most of the trash was biological materials and potentially compostable we should compost the materials and make mulch for our neighborhood. If we could identify a place, on someone’s property or in a vacant lot we could, with permission, build compost bins, and fill them twice a year after our alley clean up. As we are cleaning the alleys and streets, we could separate the materials into leaves and compostable material, recyclables and trash. After collection, the leaves and other biodegradable material would go to compost, the trash to the dumpster, and the recyclables to the appropriate place. We could make mulch and cut down on our trash volume buy 80% or more. No need to buy a packer truck!
From Left: Stacey Patrick, Jay Van Stanten, Jerry Johnson, and Wade Johnson
We will announce the spring cleanup date soon. It will probably be on the same day as the Great Indy Cleanup, as it was last spring. Keep your eyes and ears open for more information. It is far better for us to have two, if not three teams of older kids and adults to work the alleys. Each team needs 9 people: two rakers, two sweepers, two shovelers, two baggers and one runner for substitution, supplies, and communication. We had one and a half teams, which meant we did not do as thorough a job as we would have liked. Come join the fun and fellowship. Bring your kids, Karla Johnson will put them to work.
As a reminder to all our neighbors, due to City budget cuts HMP no longer gets street sweeping services. Therefore, we need to make sure that we are doing our part to keep the streets and alleys clean. It is a lot easier to pick up trash as we go along rather than to let it accumulate. The presence of trash certainly diminishes the aesthetics of our beautiful neighborhood. Let’s all work together to keep our neighborhood clean.