Trash

This is going to sound like a "Pete and Repete" letter. I live on South Fourth Street, and for the fourth time, M&M has not picked up the trash on this part of the street on the day we were told they would. They managed to pick up the recycling but not the trash. If one picks up trash on the east side of the street, does it not make sense that the west side of the street should also be picked up? If M&M has changed our scheduled pickup, I (we) would like to be notified. I love greenery, but most times it's a plant.

HARRODSBURG (AP) - City Commissioners in Harrodsburg are planning a special meeting to discuss what to do about trash recently found buried in a cemetery. Commissioner Marvin Isham told WLEX-TV that the Environmental Protection Agency was called in after oil bubbled up during flooding at Spring Hill Cemetery.  He says he was with an EPA representative when digging at the site began and they found dozens of old tires, scrap metal, fencing and car parts while searching for the source of the oil. Isham says some of the items are from as far back as 2007.

Since the second week of March, about 63.7 miles of Jessamine County roadways have spruced up as 449 55-gallon bags of litter had been removed by Class D inmates from the Jessamine County Detention Center. Jailer Jon Sallee, who assumed office in January, said he has approached the old program with a more aggressive attitude. “We’ve hired two part-time employees, Jimmy Bowman and Andy Parker, and both are Jessamine Countians,” Sallee said. “We pay them part-time salaries, and in these two deputies, we have somebody out 40 hours a week.” Sallee said while the county pays the salary, the state picks up the actual cost through a grant.

Visitors to Fort Boonesborough State Park this summer will find a much cleaner Kentucky River thanks to the efforts of the more than 100 people who showed up for the 21st annual Kentucky River Sweep Saturday. The group spent several hours picking up trash and debris that had collected along the banks of the river near the boat ramp and beach at the park and along the Clark County side of the river, near Lock and Dam No. 10. One group of about 15 teenagers came from Tennessee to help, while others were residents who lived along the river.

There is a small island located between Hawaii and California. The island is really quite remarkable but not for the reasons you might expect. It isn't a very populated island — most of the inhabitants are plastics. This ‘island’ is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is also referred to as the Eastern Garbage Patch and, more bluntly, as “trash island.” The patch developed because of the convergence of ocean currents and wind. It is not, however, the only trash island.

Dear Editor: Farmers who live on secondary and county roads have to mow the rights of way in front of their farms. The constant throwing of trash by passers-by makes this task dangerous and costly. The broken glass bottles, which are difficult to see, puncture the tractor tires. Please teach your children not to throw trash out. Adults are supposed to know better. Jeannette Germann Danville

STANFORD - Stanford City Council discussed two bids for residential trash collection Thursday night but delayed a decision on a contract until Nov. 15. Republic Services of Kentucky doing business as M&M Sanitation in Nicholasville had the highest bid: $8.85 a month plus $2 for rental of containers. Allied Waste of Frankfort had the lowest bid of $8.34 and tote rental of $3. Darrell Bryant, site manager of M&M Sanitation, said the company currently serves Crab Orchard, Danville, Perryville and Harrodsburg and is bidding for a three-year contract with Stanford.

Dear Editor, Whenever I'm driving around town, on county roads or on the state highways, I cannot help but wonder what goes on in a person's mind when they take that empty glass or plastic bottle; that can; wrapper; or bags of fast-food leftovers and throw it out their vehicle's window? For sure they're not thinking of God, who gave us this beautiful land we live on. For certain they're not thinking "WWJD"? And most certainly they are not fazed by the fact that plastic, glass or metal will remain intact for generations to come.

A video camera will be installed at the Danville-Boyle County Recycling Center after a significant amount of household garbage was left there Thursday. Donna Fechter, director of Boyle County solid waste management, arrived at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the facility on the Danville Bypass to find about 20 bags of trash outside the Dumpsters labeled for recyclables. She immediately asked employees there to search for names in the litter. A Liberty man's name was found and he was contacted.

Cliff Black talks trash. No, not that kind of trash. The soft-spoken man with a ready smile and easy chuckle is far from boastful or profane. The trash he talks is the real thing. And the trash he talks about - and works with - comes not in bag or by the pound but in a truck bed and by the ton. It's everything and the kitchen sink. For nearly five years, the 44-year-old Danville native has been operator of the Gose Pike Convenience Center, where he works four 10-hour days a week.

A garbarge truck driver's quick reaction saved a bad situation from becoming worse Tuesday morning. Around 9:15 a.m., the driver of the Rumpke truck noticed smoke billowing from the back of his truck and elected to dump a portion of his load at the intersection of Bellechase Lane and Pinewood Drive, near Edgewood Drive. “He did the smart thing by dumping the part that was smoking,” Nicholasville deputy fire chief Kevin Baker said. “It would have been tough fighting it if it had still be in the truck.” Rumpke spokeswoman Molly Yeager said the driver acted in accordance with the company's regulations.

STANFORD - Magistrates have given initial approval to a plan to implement franchise fees on waste collection companies operating in Lincoln County. Solid Waste Director Chris Thomason said the fees would only apply to companies that pick up Dumpsters for businesses, not to anyone who picks up residential trash. Magistrates approved a first reading of an ordinance amendment Tuesday that would give the Lincoln/Garrard Solid Waste board authority to set a fee on commercial trash pickups and a cap on how much waste-collection companies can charge per pickup.

STANFORD - Some Stanford residents have apparently been paying about $2 too much per month for trash pickup. City Councilwoman Amy Hazlett told council members Thursday night she had looked into the city's trash charges, which are billed through the water department, after a constituent complained to her that her bill was too high. "Apparently we've been charging $2.10 a month on water bills for a trash container," she said. One or two trash containers are supposed to be included at no additional charge to each address, according to the city's contract with Republic Services Inc. Stanford Mayor Bill Miracle said the city discovered the improper charge after the council approved a trash rate increase of 25 cents per month in February.

STANFORD - Residents of Stanford will pay about 25 cents more per month for trash pickup beginning in March. Stanford City Council voted 5-1 Thursday night to approve a 2.5-percent increase in monthly rates for Republic Services, the city's contracted trash-pickup company. City residents currently pay $9.85 monthly for trash pickup. The new 2.5-percent increase means a monthly cost of $10.10, which amounts to $3 extra per household per year. Republic Municipal Representative Ron White initially asked council members to approve a 5-percent increase because rising costs of doing business are affecting the company's bottom line.

Recently, I­­ got back from my trip to Costa Rica. The trip was part of my coursework for my master's degree in zoology. While I had a great time and learned many different things, a few things really stuck out in my mind. I talk a lot about recycling in my columns because I think it's very important. I believe it's small things like everyone doing their part to recycle that can make a huge impact. While I was in Costa Rica, people at every place we visited recycled. Unlike here where in many places you can toss all kinds of recycling in the same bin, there they still have to sort all their recycling, so it's not as easy.

HUSTONVILLE - The current heat wave may be partially to blame for a small roof fire at Hustonville Elementary School Saturday afternoon. Hustonville Mayor Marc Spivey and Lincoln schools Superintendent Karen Hatter said a plastic bag of trash that had been left on the school's roof by construction workers spontaneously combusted, prompting neighbors to call 911 with reports of flames shooting out the top of the school. Hatter said firefighters extinguished the flaming trash, but not before heat caused a seam in the roof to separate, allowing some of the water used by firefighters to leak through into a classroom.

Keili Herron ate out of the trash all day Friday. The 14-year-old was one of 16 youth from Huntley, Ill., focused on recycling efforts at the Ichthus festival in Wilmore. She found untouched doughnuts and pizza in the trash in the morning. “It's actually not that bad; it tastes just like real food once you get past the fact that there's dirt on it,” Herron said. The group was on a week-long mission trip with Wilmore-based Confrontation Point Ministries, which has coordinated recycling efforts at Ichthus for four years.

Typically, when a bunch of people show up on an early summer Saturday morning near Lock 8 at the John Nickell Boat Ramp in southeastern Jessamine County they're armed with boats, fishing poles and tackle boxes. While a 24-foot pontoon boat provided the means of transportation Saturday, about 15 workers from Jessamine County and the city of Nicholasville left their poles and tackle boxes at home, opting instead for trash bags and work gloves as they took part in the annual Kentucky River Clean Sweep event.

Visitors to Fort Boonesborough State Park this summer will find a much cleaner Kentucky River thanks to the efforts of the more than 100 people who showed up for the 21st annual Kentucky River Sweep Saturday. The group spent several hours picking up trash and debris that had collected along the banks of the river near the boat ramp and beach at the park and along the Clark County side of the river, near Lock and Dam No. 10. One group of about 15 teenagers came from Tennessee to help, while others were residents who lived along the river.

HARRODSBURG (AP) - City Commissioners in Harrodsburg are planning a special meeting to discuss what to do about trash recently found buried in a cemetery. Commissioner Marvin Isham told WLEX-TV that the Environmental Protection Agency was called in after oil bubbled up during flooding at Spring Hill Cemetery.  He says he was with an EPA representative when digging at the site began and they found dozens of old tires, scrap metal, fencing and car parts while searching for the source of the oil. Isham says some of the items are from as far back as 2007.