Somers Point trash picked up with help from Mainland NHS students
SOMERS POINT — The Somers Point Green Team and Department of Public Works joined forces with a group of volunteers April 5 for the annual citywide cleanup.
Organizer John Helbig said they met at 8:45 a.m. at the public works yard to distribute safety vests, gloves, grabbers and bags to about 50 people who showed up.
Helbig said the rain held off long enough to get everyone out to their assigned spots to pick up litter.
“I had my fingers crossed that we could sneak it in before the rain starts,” he said. “It went really smoothly.”
He said there was a mix of members of the Environmental Commission, Green Thumb Garden Club and city officials such as Mayor Dennis Tapp, City Council President Charlie Haberkorn and Councilmen Sean McGuigan and Mike Owen.“We put fliers up around town and got emails from folks from all over the community,” Helbig said. “That was nice to see.”
This year they were joined by members of the National Honor Society from Mainland Regional High School.
“We try to keep youngsters off the main roads where there’s not as much traffic,” he said.
The event is held annually to spruce up the city before the summer crowds arrive.
“We try to do this every year,” Helbig said, noting there were about twice as many volunteers this year than in the past two years.
Helbig said he and Jim Dougherty of the Department of Public Works get together to decide which roads are the worst in terms of litter, create routes and assign groups to each spot.
“We figure out the safest place to park, and the volunteers go there, pick it up, bag it and pile it up,” Helbig said.
He noted that safety is of utmost importance and that Public Works put cones out alongside the pickup areas to slow traffic, then returned to collect the filled bags.
Helbig said the project is done through a Clean Communities grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection. He said the problem areas are largely the same from year to year. Helbig said Somers Point-Mays Landing Road gets a lot of trash that blows off trucks and washes up with the tide, while Groveland Avenue behind the post office is problematic due to uncovered dumpsters nearby. Bethel Road across from the ShopRite plaza also is a collection spot, as well as along Bay Avenue from Maryland to Ocean avenues.
“They did a great job, and they do every year,” Helbig said of the volunteers. “We get a lot of folks out who want to do good in the community, get together and do something positive.”
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
Photos special to the Sentinel