Citywide clean-up collects helpers ahead of latest trash collection

‘Tis the season to clean those closets and crawl spaces so there’s plenty of room to hide presents in a couple of months.
The year’s second Citywide Clean-up Day is set for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 10, with Public Works no-cost collection site once again situated east of Broadway Avenue on Commerce.
The four-hour Fall trash-off runs concurrently with a grassroots effort to collect litter ahead of the holidays.
“Anyone is welcome to go out and do a trash pickup in their neighborhood and bring it down to the dump area,” says Gladewater City Secretary Judy Van Houten. “They can adopt a city park. There’s always a group that gets together and walks downtown. It’s really kind of at their own pace that day.
“Our crew handles the collection site down by the railroad.”
Notably, this clean-up will not include tire collection, a grant-funded component.
Everything else is welcome except for some specific prohibited items including:
• Paint
• Shingles
• Batteries
• Chemicals
• Commercial waste
• Refrigeration items
“If they have something that has refrigeration, like an old refrigerator or freezer, the only way we can accept it is if the refrigerant has been removed and its certified by a technician,” Van Houten noted.
The city will also lend a hand to residents in particular need of assistance.
“Elderly and disabled can call City Hall up until Thursday afternoon (Oct. 8) at 4:45 p.m. and we’ll go to their house and pick up their stuff. We can’t go into the house, but we can get it from the road.”
For more information, contact Gladewater City Hall at 903-845-2196.
Gladewater Chamber of Commerce dynamo Lois Reed is recruiting volunteers for the concurrent Hwy. 271 clean-up in memory of her predecessor, the late Marsha Valdetero.
“We want to keep her memory,” Reed said, “and how much she loved downtown.”
The chamber provides Hi-Viz vests, trash bags and gloves for volunteers sprucing the stretch of roadway between either end of the loop. The team will start the route at the Mobil gas station south of downtown at 8 a.m.
To volunteer with the chamber effort, call 903-845-5501.