Volunteers Needed For York Ridge Cleanup; Road Crews To Tackle Litter

You or your group can volunteer with the Dearborn County Anti-Litter Initiative to clean up along York Ridge Road on July 13.

A view of the York Ridge Hill where the July 13 cleanup will take place. Photo provided.

(Dearborn County, Ind.) - A portion of York Ridge Road will be closed and cleaned up by volunteers on July 13 as part of the Dearborn County Anti-Litter Initiative.

Dearborn County Commissioners have approved a request to close about one-half mile of the road, known as the York Ridge Hill, from 9 a.m.-12 noon on Saturday, July 13 so volunteers can safely clean up the area, said Celeste Calvitto, founder and chair of the Initiative. The segment runs from the intersection of York Ridge Road and Washington Street in Guilford to the 5300 block of York Ridge. Sheriff Shane McHenry has authorized deputies to be on hand for traffic control, and the Highway Department will post signs in advance of the closure, Calvitto said.

“July 13 was selected because there do not appear to be events scheduled in the area that a clean-up and road closure would interfere with. Also, State Route 1 is projected to be open by then, according to INDOT,” Calvitto said.

Gregg Callahan, York Township Trustee, facilitated a location for volunteers to park at the Yorkridge Hunting Club, 5311 York Ridge Road, and for the Miller-York Volunteer Fire Department to help block the road.

Volunteers are needed for the July 13 clean-up project. Those who would like to participate are asked to go to the Initiative’s Facebook page, facebook.com/DearbornCountyAntiLitterInitiative/ and indicate their interest. “We would like have an idea of the number of volunteers to expect so we have enough supplies,” Calvitto said. Bags, gloves, safety vests and trash pickers will be provided.

Several other cleanups have taken place over the past few months as part of the Dearborn County Anti-Litter Initiative, which was formed in 2015. In April, the State Line Road cleanup, led by Sugar Ridge resident Rich Martin, drew 40 volunteers, and nearly 100 bags of litter were collected. In May, the Jamison Road cleanup led by Bright Fire & EMS had assistance from the Dover Hoosier Helpers 4H Club, Boy Scout Troop 693 and about a dozen other community volunteers.

“Bright Fire & EMS has led numerous cleanups in the area over the years, and we are very appreciative,” Calvitto said. “And there are dedicated people who have been picking up litter on their own for many years, long before the Initiative got started, such as the Volpenhein family in Logan, Don Albert in Bright, and many others throughout the county. If more people were like them, taking ownership of their areas, we would not need the Anti-Litter Initiative. We encourage everyone to check out our Facebook page to see what your friends and neighbors are doing to help.”

In addition, many other roads throughout the county are slated to be cleaned up by Dearborn County Sheriff Road Crews and Southeast Regional Community Corrections as vital partners in the Anti-Litter Initiative. They include Legion Road, Lawrenceville Road, Stoops Road, Spangler Road, Weisburg Road, North Hogan Road, County Farm Road, Chesterville Road, and North Dearborn from State Line to SR 1. Sand Run and Bond Road in Bright are on the list; however, both require closure and prior planning. Georgetown Road is being considered for early next spring and would require closure.

Other volunteer cleanups as part of the Initiative will be announced. Suggestions for locations are encouraged – please send a message through the Facebook page, facebook.com/DearbornCountyAntiLitterInitiative/.  County roads that do not need to be closed for the safety of volunteers are preferred (but not required) – there needs to be enough time to get permission from County Commissioners to close the road and to provide the public with adequate advance notice of the closure. There should also be a location nearby where volunteers who do not live in the area can park.