Spring cleaning

Michael Johndrow, executive director of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce is pleased that so many organizations, businesses and individuals contributed to another successful "Operation Clean Sweep," the annual roadside cleanup sponsored by the chamber.
This year's event was again changed from a weekend to a week long event that ran from April 21, to Sunday, April 28.
On Saturday, April 27, volunteers were invited to stop by the table near the Chamber's South Street Caboose office to pick up free rubber gloves, garbage bags and refreshments.
Each year various groups, clubs and individuals take part by pre-registering their routes in order to ensure garbage pickup by the Department of Public Works on the following Monday and Tuesday. And each year the county also waves the landfill fee.
However, there are many others who participate in the town wide event since many people volunteer on their own without registering.
Other programs
In addition to the roadside clean up, there were several other scheduled programs that day.
The Warwick Lions Club, for example, provided a shredding truck, at its own expense, for the benefit of local residents.
The annual "pill drop" organized by the Warwick Valley Coalition in cooperation with the Warwick Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) collected approximately 150 pounds of unused prescription and over the counter medications.
This year's Operation Clean Sweep, which originated in 1990, was coordinated by the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce with the aid of Elizabeth Verboys, a member of Girl Scout Cadet Troop 733.
- Roger Gavan