Have you been down in the Center Street Landing area lately? If you have, you know that what was once a pretty place to visit is now a receptacle for every sort of garbage.

Tuesday, June 13, 2000

Have you been down in the Center Street Landing area lately? If you have, you know that what was once a pretty place to visit is now a receptacle for every sort of garbage.

And that is just along the riverbanks. Imagine what the water’s edge would reveal if you looked closely.

Organizers of the Ohio River Sweep know that the area’s waterways are too precious to allow them to become trash piles.

That is the reason that this weekend volunteers from all over the Tri-State – and from areas downriver as well – will put on some rubber gloves and boots and grab bags to help clean up the Ohio River’s banks.

Lawrence County residents have a vested interest in keeping their riverbanks clean. The only way to create a riverfront area that will attract visitors is to have an area that they want to visit.

Ironton’s riverfront property has great potential as a drawing card for locals and travelers alike, but the first step in making that dream a reality is getting the trash off the park area – and keeping it off.

You don’t have to give your whole day to the River Sweep. A couple of hours of trash collecting can go a long way – who knows, you might even find a buried treasure.

And if you don’t believe that a group of volunteers can make a difference, just look at the flowers that now grace the city’s streets. Your neighbors made that happen on a Saturday afternoon.