Residents asked to attend meeting

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

HOLYOKE - Trash was one of the central discussions at this month's Holyoke Downtown Revitalization meeting conducted last Thursday.

Mayor Michael Sullivan invited the public to attend a community meeting Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club to help plan for the citywide clean-up weekend on April 20-23.

Sullivan called on people to recognize their part in the responsible disposal of trash. He said the city is looking into increasing its recycling efforts by adding more buildings and neighborhoods to the recycling pick-up schedule. Currently, buildings with more than five apartments are not on the pick-up list.

Part of the city's problems concerning the proper way to dispose of trash is the large number of transients, Sullivan explained. Because of the high density of homeless people placed in temporary housing by the state's Department of Transitional Assistance, many people do not stay long enough in the city to learn about recycling and the right way to get rid of trash.

The mayor said that he is considering a sign program that would recognize an area of the city as being cleaned by a specific group of people to encourage greater civic pride.

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Also discussed at the meeting was the food drive scheduled for March 12 through 26 to aid the city's food pantries. Sponsored by the The Mayor's Peace Initiative Committee and the Holyoke Stop & Shop Supermarkets, the drive is soliciting donations of "dinners in a can," such as stew, hash, tuna, ravioli, and spaghetti, as well as peanut butter, canned fruit and cereal.

The drop-off locations include the Mayor's office, the Stop & Shop Supermarkets, the Holyoke Police Department, the Department of Public Works, all Fire Department locations and the Holyoke Creative Arts Center.