Community pitches in to clean up city’s East End
In what was truly a community effort, a group of approximately 60 volunteers came out Saturday morning to help clean up Uniontown’s East End neighborhood. From 8 a.m. to noon, pickup trucks carrying items such as old sewing machines and rusty, metal outdoor furniture pulled into the parking lot of Esther’s Bar on Austin Street to drop off the unwanted clutter. The event marked the second cleanup day sponsored by the East End Concerned Citizen’s Group.
“We’re really proud of everybody coming out,” said Gina Jones of the East End Concerned Citizen’s Group. She said the venture is really effecting how people are taking care of their properties. “We are seeing a change since the first cleanup day but we’ve still got a long way to go,” she said.
Jones said the initiative is a much bigger picture than just cleaning up garbage. “We are rebuilding the community to make it the best it can be across all generations,” she said.
The Rev. Marvin Wright, president of the East End Concerned Citizens, said by collecting and properly disposing of the useless items, the appearance of the community has improved. “Otherwise, they would be sitting in back yards,” he said of the items that included mattresses, television sets, microwaves, chairs, old hot water heaters and other materials.
A pile of metal objects was hauled away separately.
Wright said the second cleanup day was going well, as the volunteers worked to fill a fifth Dumpster. He estimated that 60 people were canvassing the neighborhood to pick up garbage. “We want people to have pride in the community and be responsible for their property,” Wright said. He added that they are hoping for a ripple effect that will lead to other improvements in the neighborhood, but acknowledged that they must take it “one step at a time.” He said the first cleanup day two months ago yielded seven full Dumpsters. Wright said another cleanup day might be on the horizon this year.
Wright said plans are to partner with the state Department of Transportation to begin an “Adopt A Highway” program in the neighborhood, in which a designated portion of a state road is cleaned up four times a year. He said the committee is also starting a crime watch organization in conjunction with the city police and is working to get its 501 C3 tax-exempt status so it can receive funding. A meeting will held soon with Trooper Brian Burden of the state police regarding the crime watch.
Jones said the citizens group is also working to help the East End United Community Center get a new building constructed. She said they are receiving help from the University of Pittsburgh graduate school of public and international affairs.
The East End is among 22 communities in the state selected by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to participate in the Blueprint Communities program, which is designed to help them with revitalization planning and obtain program funding.
Both Wright and Jones said they appreciated the efforts of everyone involved. The city of Uniontown donated the Dumpsters, in addition to Esther’s donating the parking lot for the drop off spot. Among those specifically mentioned were fire chief/code enforcement officer Myron Nypaver and councilman Bob Cerjanec. The Exit Here Corporation donated lunch for the volunteers.
Taking a break from helping oversee the Dumpster disposal, Cerjanec said each Dumpster could hold 30 cubic yards of material.
Counting the seven collected two months ago and the five on Saturday, volunteers collected 360 cubic yards of refuse during the two events.
The citizens group meets every month at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday at City Chapel at 254 East Main St. Anyone interested in acquiring more information about the effort can contact Wright at 724-366-2636.