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First local Main Street Clean Sweep April 20

4/19/2019

By Brianna Stephens
Advocate Staff writer

Montgomery County will participate in its first Main Street Clean Sweep event April 20.

Main Street Clean Sweep, sponsored by Bluegrass Greensource, is a one-day, community-led litter cleanup in cities across central Kentucky.
Bluegrass Greensource has provided environmental education, outreach and resources to 20 central Kentucky counties since 2001. Its mission is to empower people and communities in the bluegrass to create a sustainable environment.

The organization encourages people to make small changes in their every day lives that add up to big, positive impacts for our shared environment.
“This Saturday should be a great event for the community,” Mt. Sterling Mayor Al Botts said. “I encourage businesses and residents in the city that may not be able to come to the event to participate by cleaning up any litter on or around their properties. There are a lot of things we can’t control in our daily lives, but we can have a significant impact on how clean the world that we live in is.

“We have such a beautiful community here, we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to leave it better than we found it. And to do that, we all have to do our part to help clean up the areas around us,” Botts added.

During last year’s event, 633 bags and around 12,396 pounds of litter were collected in the 20 participating cities in central Kentucky, according to Bluegrass Greensource. There were also 1,129 volunteers.
Mt. Sterling’s event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cleanup will happen rain or shine.

Volunteers are asked to meet at Main Street Park, where they will be provided supplies for the cleanup, like trash bags and gloves. Volunteers are encouraged to wear closed toe shoes and to dress appropriately for the weather.

There will be a safety briefing by the Mt. Sterling Police Dept. and an informational briefing in the park at 9 a.m., Botts said.

Volunteers will then be divided into groups and sent into different areas.
Trash receptacles will be provided by the City of Mt. Sterling, Botts said, and Mt. Sterling Public Works will also support the event.

The clean-up will focus on public spaces and along the streets and sidewalks in the downtown area, Botts said. The more volunteers who participate, the more areas can be addressed, he added.

Carmela Fletcher-Green and the Montgomery County 4-H This Land Is Our Land Youth Leadership Group have taken the lead in organizing volunteers for the event and mapping out areas and streets for cleanup. More than 50 volunteers have already committed to participate in the event, he said.

Local community sponsors for the event include the Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Community Trust Bank, Ale-8-One and Dairy Queen.

Drinks and a snack will be provided for volunteers.
For more information about Bluegrass Greensource or Main Street Clean Sweep, go to https://bggreensource.org/what-we-do/main-street-clean-sweep/.

Main Street Clean Sweep is part of an ongoing effort in the city to remove litter from the streets and waterways, Botts said.

Public Works has already spent several days this year cleaning trash and debris along Hinkston Creek downtown, in addition to storm drains.
“We hope that these efforts will reduce some of the localized flooding that is often found on streets where drains often become clogged or obstructed by trash, leaves and other debris,” Botts said.

Main Street Clean Sweep will be followed by Spring Cleanup in May, where Public Works will help remove bulk trash items for residents within city limits.

Botts said the streets, dates and times will be published in the Advocate and will be posted on the city’s website, cityofmtsterling.com.