The Junk Man Cometh

Friday night sprinkles and cool autumn temperatures on Saturday didn’t stop area residents from depositing tons of debris and refuse at their curbsides on Saturday, for the free Lamar Clean Up Day.

Before the city crews were able to scoop up all accumulated junk and debris, area residents noted some Friday night neighborhood rovers, cruising the streets, looking to score some usable items that were set out early. This reporter struggled with an over-weight, too-tall, upright freezer, finally pushing, pulling, kicking and cursing it from garage to the street in a record 15 minutes, only to have it whisked away in about the same time span, after he managed to get himself inside his house to celebrate the tug of war with a bottle of Ibuprofen.

With the exception of burn barrels and some potent chemicals, everything was fair game for collections. Volunteers and staff reported by 6:30am Saturday to the city assembly site for their assignments, and were on the streets by 7am. Collections continued until 4pm, but by that time, trucks and some front end loaders had done their job. Mattresses, old tires, desks, chairs, tree limbs, tree trunks, broken kids toys, old computer and tv screens, tables and probably a kitchen sink or two was lining the streets as the crews swept the city. Other residents were taking advantage of the free dumping at the landfill over the weekend. Those city workers who had done this before said the amount of debris was about the same as the last time, but apparently less than the initial clean up that was conducted three years ago. The Lady Lopes from the Lamar Community College softball team volunteered their services for another year.

By Russ Baldwin.