Conference 7.286::maynard

	There are a few businesses that go out and clean up
	their store fronts.  Mannings Pharmacy for one. 
	Every morning when I walk by there is someone outside
	picking up the litter.

	It's almost spring cleanup time anyway.  The Maynard
	students get out and do a massive litter cleanup 
	every spring.  

	Of course, we can ALL do our share and not litter.

	- Linda

re: .1
    
There might be a conservative 40-50 downtown merchants?  How many 
Merchants are a "few" ?  At least they don't have a " Why should
I bother attitude ".  I would like to commend the few.

I wonder about the idea of waiting for the Hi School students to 
collect the litter that has been accumulating all winter if not 
longer?

When downtown, I look for the corner trash container but have no 
luck.

Walk around town, look down and around then tell me you disagree.

    
    Why do you point fingers at the merchants?  It seems unlikely to
    me that they are the CAUSE of the problem.  They MAY be part of
    the solution.
    
    re: -.1 trash cans - nods of agreement.  The town doesn't appear
    to know that they exist.

    The litter problem in Maynard is not new.  I think if one looked
    close enough, litter from 1965 could be found on the street.  Trash
    cans do not exist and are on the endangered species list. 
    
    Carl

re: .3

The Merchants of a community usually are looked upon to set the 
direction, tone and provide the leadership of a community.  The 
Merchants usually work closely with the town through the Chamber 
of Commerce.  In influencing a town to comply with an avenue of 
direction, the hefty tax contribution of the combined members 
of the Chamber of Commerce is usually all the leverage that is 
needed.

In buying a home, the general appearance of a neighborhood says
a lot about the people living in that neighborhood, the general 
appearance of a towns business district says a lot about the 
town and its merchants.

I still think that all of us have to do our part, no matter how
small.  I think that Digital employees especially should keep
this in mind considering we are the major portion of the pedestrian
traffic during the week.  

I do agree that trash cans would help alleviate the problem.  But,
just because there are none, is NO excuse for throwing the trash on 
the ground.

- Linda

    I'd like to see the town put in litterbaskets also.  Maybe it's
    part of the rebuilding plan?
    
    Given that some 15,000 (approximately?) people come to work in Maynard
    every day, that the streets are narrow, and the strain on town public
    works to keep everything clean, I'm surprised there isn't more litter.
    And, of course, a lot of trash gets hidden under snow until Spring.
    
    The town doesn't appear to be doing badly, however, if you look
    at the recent real estate prices.  I even heard some TV news show
    mention the "new desirable towns to live in", and Maynard was one!

Trash cans on the sidewalks will make downtown look dumpy.  Keep your
trash in your pockets until you get home.  Keep if off the town streets,
in or out of cans.  Must downtown always look like we're waiting for the
trash men to show up?  No!

    What about the small trash containers that hang on lamposts?  They
    should be adequate, and aren't that obtrusive.
    
    BTW, there are some nice big dumpsters in the parking lot behind
    the buildings on Nason and Main streets.  Some of them are locked,
    though.
    
    The town dump also closed a few years ago!  Now I have a pile of
    brushwood in my back yard, and one heck of a disposal problem. 
    (The regular trash pickup won't take it unless it's in bags.  Ever
    try to bag rose branches?)

reply .9

	Pete, they should pick them up if you bundle them with
	twine.  Last year I cut back all my rose bushes and 
	just tied them up into one big bundle.  All they have
	to do is grab the middle to avoid the thorns.  They
	took them with no complaints.

	Linda

    re.8
    
    Does a dumpy town deserve dumpy cans?
    
    

Re/ .8:
>    
>Trash cans on the sidewalks will make downtown look dumpy.
>
    
    I've never heard this attitude in my life.  Every downtown worth
    it's salt has some public trash cans.  Even if some of us
    carry our trash until we find a place to throw it out, many people
    don't, and I'd certainly prefer trash cans to loose trash.

    re 51.1
    
    Question.
    
    Is the Hi School student massave litter cleanup held in early or 
    late spring ?  
    
    Point of Information.
    
    There is a litter can in town.  It is in front of the book store that 
    sells all the lottery tickets.

    RE:  .13
    
    Another trash container is the river.  Anybody want a free bicycle
    or a refrigerator?
    
    
    
    
    Carl

    re .14
    
    Maybe this rain storm will wash the " street litter " into the
    Assabet river.  The Hi School students will not have to do a 
    massive cleanup and the communities down river can worry about
    the " river litter ". 
    

    RE: .14
    
    Carl - You're a dump rat!

    RE: .16
    
    Wrong, I'm a mill rat!  the problem is that I have to drive thru
    a dump just to get to the mill.
    
    By the way, the rain did not wash any of the trash away.  The storm
    drains were all plugged up with litter.
    
    
    

re .15, .17:

Given the current volume in the river, if the junk isn't washed away by now, it
isn't going anywhere!

-Mike