Friday, May 23, 2014
St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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A historical perspective from 25 years ago May 26, 1989
Scout cleanup rids local parks of litter On May 13, more than 40 local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts spent their Saturday afternoon cleaning St. Joseph’s Memorial, Centennial and Millstream parks. The St. Joseph Parks Commission and Recreation Association held a picnic afterward as a reward for their efforts. Generous donations from the local Lions, Lionesses, Rod and Gun Club, Jaycees, Women of Today and the Knights of Columbus made the picnic possible. Special thanks is in order for the St. Joseph Recreation Association for providing the concession stand and staff as well as the pop and popcorn. Surplus contributions will be used for tree plantings in one or more of the parks. “It was fun cleaning the park and getting a treat was OK too,” said Alex Anderson of Den 4, May 12, 1989
Pack 84. An effort was made to coordinate the College of St. Benedict’s and St. John’s University’s cleanup with the Scout event, but the Scout Expo was held that same day. Plans for next year’s cleanup are already being made to ensure a joint effort and picnic. The St. Joseph Parks Commission thanks all organizations who made this event possible. Special thanks to the Scouts and CSB/ SJU students for caring about our parks. The Parks Commission is a citizens advisory board to the City Council and welcomes suggestions and ideas from residents about our parks. Members include the following: Joe Braun, John Anderson, Claudette Klein, Faye Gretsch, Jo Loscheider, Greg Henry, Nel Pfannenstein, Larry Christen and Steve Dehler.
Street sweeper delivered
by Janelle Von Pinnon
The City of St. Joseph recently made the decision to obtain a street sweeper. The renovated machine was delivered April 26. “The city is renting with the option to buy,” said Rachel Stapleton, city clerk. “Though no set schedule has been determined as yet, we plan to use it at least twice a month, especially in the business district,” said Jim Marthaler, both street sweeper and waste water plant operator. “Right now, we’re trying to clean up the salt and sand from county and
city sanding this past winter. The city spread nearly 150 tons alone. “We’ll clear out the thick stuff in the gutters first and then fine-tune for the finer sand,” Marthaler continued, “that way we’ll pick up the bulk of it and keep it out of the city storm sewers.” City maintenance spent nearly 20 hours cleaning the streets last week, with respites due to rain. “We’re new to it so it’s hard to say how often we’ll be using it (the sweeper),” Marthaler said, “but we have put a few
Submitted photo
Combined clean-up efforts by local Boy, Girl and Cub Scout troops were rewarded by the St. Joseph Parks Commission and Recreation Association. On May 13 this group scoured St. Joseph’s three parks – Memorial, Centennial and Millstream – for litter and other pollution, then enjoyed treats for their labors. 11- and 12-hour days in already. We’ll try to do a lot of the sweeping at night on business streets and the highway, and stick to the residential areas during the day so as not to disturb the traffic flow.” The sweeper is equipped with a few extra niceties, air conditioning and hydrostatic (automatic) drive among them. “It’s one of the nicer machines,” Marthaler said. “A new one would probably cost between $75,000 and $80,000.” Though Stapleton would not reveal the exact cost of the street sweeper because bids will be let soon, she said the one now being rented costs considerably less than a new one should the city decide to buy it in the future.