Wheeling Island Cleanup Blitz Earns Praise From City Leaders
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Mounds of trash and junk are piled on the curbs along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island for a massive cleanup effort. Teams of city crews have been working all week to remove the junk in a one-time neighborhood improvement blitz that was organized in the manner of a flood disaster cleanup effort. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Trending
WHEELING -- A one-time cleanup blitz in Wheeling Island looked like a great idea on paper, but the key to its success pivoted on participation by Island residents. Several days later, city crews are still loading up and hauling away heaps of junk in what has turned out to be a monumental community movement toward neighborhood improvement.
In observance of Earth Day today, last weekend's cleanup effort continues and will fittingly dovetail into community cleanups this coming weekend.
"This is an unprecedented event outside of a flood," Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler said. "Conditions on Wheeling Island, prior to this cleanup event, were incredibly out of control. If we ranked the neighborhoods in terms of junk and trash, Wheeling Island has to be the first, and there's not even a close second."
Organized in a manner similar to a flood disaster cleanup, last weekend's venture asked Wheeling Island residents to place all of their junk and unwanted items -- big and small -- neatly along the curb of their regular trash pickup route this weekend. On Monday, crews began loading it and hauling it away.
Instead of junk cluttering a yard, porch or home, it was targeted for removal and proper disposal. And hundreds of Island residents answered the call.
Seidler spearheaded the cleanup, made possible by participation by various city departments and a small army of city crew members. Dozens of workers from the Wheeling Water Department, Division of Operations, Sanitation Department and Water Pollution Control Department have been working on this special project all week.
"I really appreciate those folks stepping up and offering to do this," Seidler said. "It's certainly no small sacrifice for the city. We've had 50 city employees out there on Wheeling Island this week, four or five backhoes, more dump trucks than I've ever seen in my life, and more roll off trucks.
"I can't express my thanks enough."
Seidler noted that the crews still have responsibilities to their departments, but have pulled together to work tirelessly on this effort. Former Wheeling Mayor Nick Sparachane of Undo's Family Restaurants donated meals to the city crews, which took a well-deserved break from the cleanup on an unseasonably chilly Wednesday afternoon at the Island Marina to enjoy the "thank-you" smorgasbord.
Drivers from Republic Services and Jochum Refuse have also been busy helping with the cause, with big trucks and heavy equipment from private companies and the city making rounds through streets and alleys all around the Island this week.
"This is not something the city can do very often -- this is a tall ask," Seidler said. "There's been an unbelievable amount of effort."
Even before mid-week, crews had already filled 25 full-sized rolloff dumpsters, and they were still only about a third of the way through gathering all of the junk, officials said. Everything from old furniture to nearly 200 mattresses, 200 tires and probably 100 old televisions comprised the heap so far, Seidler said, thanking Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron and all of the city department heads for their support and cooperation.
Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum praised Seidler's work and said she may swipe the concept for her South Wheeling district. She also noted that it is National Volunteer Week.
"In the interest of Volunteer Week, our second big Wheeling Island cleanup event is coming up this weekend," Seidler added, explaining that a volunteer sweep will take place. "This is where all of the residents adopt a street or an alley, we're going to be painting fire hydrants and cleaning cinders off of the curbs, so we're looking for an incredible turnout."
Eden's Family Restaurant has offered to feed the volunteers breakfast and Abbey's Restaurant has offered to feed them lunch, Seidler noted.
The final big cleanup day will come on Tuesday with Dumpster Day at Wheeling Island Marina, where any remaining trash can be taken between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. to be hauled away.
For more information on these efforts, visit the "Wheeling Island Cleanup Day(s)" page on Facebook.