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Saturday, April 19, was a beautiful
spring day. The sun was shining brightly and the green shades that signal
the beginning of warmer weather were beginning to bloom on the hillsides
surrounding Brookline and Moore Parks. What a perfect setting to celebrate
Earth Day 2008, and what better way to usher in the spring season than with
a clean, litter free neighborhood for everyone to enjoy?
For the fourth consecutive
year, the boys and girls of Brookline came together and donated a
couple hours of their time helping to clean up Brookline's two city
parks. Led by the staff of the Brookline Recreation Center, and assisted
by several adult leaders, the kids worked hard to help remove much of
the unsightly litter that had built up over the past fall and winter.
The Brookline and Moore Park
efforts were part of the Cleanways Project here in Brookline,
coordinated by Keith Knecht of the South Pittsburgh Development Corporation
(SPDC), a local community action group. The city-wide
efforts are directed by the Pennsylvania Resources Council and
Pittsburgh Citiparks. PA Cleanways is actually statewide effort to help
eliminate illegal dumping and littering in Pennsylvania. Throughout
the state, hundreds of thousands of residents joined in the pickup.
Some of the other neighborhood areas where Keith and the many SPDC
volunteers cleaned were Brookline Boulevard, Whited Street and Pioneer
Avenue.
Jake Snyder, Nick Manuel, Brian Hall
and Chris Potts cleared
the hillside below Breining Street. Lots of trash there!
When the day was complete, there were
two large piles of garbage covering the pickup sites at both Moore and Brookline
Parks. It was quite a fine effort by our own neighborhood kids, who all learned
a lesson about the offensive nature of litter. Now it's up to the good citizens
of Brookline to help keep our community resources clean. It's easy to walk
past litter, ignore it or even contribute to it. It's equally easy to bend
over and pick up a piece of trash. You'll feel better, and if everyone did
that, think how nice our streets, sidewalks and parks could be!
The staff of the Brookline Recreation
Center would like to thank all the children and adults who helped out with
the park cleanup. Special thanks to our sponsors, Pittsburgh Citiparks,
Antonio's Pizzeria and especially the South Pittsburgh Development Corporation.
Each year, the good people at SPDC provide us with the supplies needed and
then top it off by sending pizza and pop to help feed all of our hungry
little workers.
The Brookline Park team
included:
Brian Hall, Laila Jones, Kristin Pendzich,
Noah Rodgers, Kenny Stalowski, Hunter Richie, Phillip Tranter, Arianne Sicilia,
Nick Manuel, Billy Tranter, Chris Potts, Jacob Snyder, Lorraine Hancock, Mark Mellix,
Dylan Stalowski, Alexis Snyder, Kelli Hall, Shawniece Mickens, Nick Michaels,
Luke Richie, Brittany Corbett, Justin Hancock, Rita Gossett, Joe Szymanski,
Clint Burton, Jimmy Perry, Matthew Newman and Milan Tyler.
The Moore Park team
included:
Desiree Niccoli, Jenna Mitchell, Ariana
Edwards, Jessica Sutton, Terri Sutton, Mariah King, Megan Coyne, Amy Tremel,
Taylor Jamison, Julia Tremel, Shane McCarthy, Hannah Tremel, Erin Skiff,
Michael Elwood, Hannah Skiff, Shannon McCarthy, Matthew McHugh, Robert Underwood,
Matthew Newman, Michelle Underwood Jr., Debbie Augustine, Mary Ann McCarthy,
Lori Coyne, Michelle Underwood, DeWayne Adams and Jimmy Perry. Most were from
Girl Scout Troops #599, #1217, #1522, Brownie Troop #763, and the Resurrection
Youth Group. |