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GREENING “Si hortum in bibliotheca habes, nihil deerit/He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing.”- Marcus Tullius Cicero

Photos: C.D. COOPER

WINTER 2015 * VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1

emember Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout? She’s the girl that wouldn’t take the garbage out. So it piled up to the ceiling with coffee grounds and potato peelings. Brown bananas and rotten peas, sour chunks of cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor. It cracked the windows and it blocked the door. Garbage rolled down the halls. It raised the roof, it broke the walls. Then at last the garbage reached so high that it finally touched the sky. None of Sarah’s friends would come to play, and all of her neighbors moved away; and final-

ly, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout said, “Okay, I’ll take the garbage out!” But then of course it was too late, because the garbage reached across the state, from New York to the Golden Gate. In the end, Sarah met a horrible fate. Please do something about the garbage before it’s too late. Could there be anything more discouraging than having an illegal dump at your back door or in your neighborhood? Wouldn’t you want to move away because your children couldn’t come out to play? Or if none of your guest would want to stay?

It happens in Omaha and not just North and South. Nor is it only North and South Omaha residents dumping. Everything from construction debris, car parts, mattresses, soiled sanitary napkins, used condoms, baby diapers, hazardous waste and bags filled with weekly household garbage is dumped by unscrupulus culprits anywhere it’s convenient for them to do so. Usually under the cover of night and in the wee hours of the morning. Often illegal dumpers are contractors and slumlords (and their hired hands). But increasingly more and more homeowners are using va-

THE BIG DIRTY O!

cant lots and deserted roads to rid themselves of their unwanted junk to avoid landfill fees and the “inconvenience” of transporting their junk there themselves. Guess who ends up paying the bill for discarded rubbish? Taxpayers. Illegal dumping is a city-wide issue and a whole community concern requiring wholehearted effort and community support from the entire citizenry of Omaha and its surrounding communities.

Email: photos of your yard, garden, farm, story ideas or local related events to: ideas@greencityleader.com @SUNOMAHA #SUPPORT MOM & POP

Illegal dumping in Omaha C. D. COOPER PUBLISHER/EDITOR

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

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www.GREENCITYLEADER.com We want to feature you in our newspaper. Please write to us about your experiences in the garden. Share your tips and what you’ve learned through trial and error. Send messages and photos to: submit@greencityleader.com Send a self-address stamped envelope with the correct postage for returns. Green City Leader’s THE GREENING PO BOX 111336, Omaha, NE. 68111 All manuscripts are kept on file. Min. 650 words. Max. 2500 words. Pieces exceeding the max. will be edited. All letters must bear the writer’s signature, address, telephone number, email address and self photo. The Greening isn’t responsible for claims or offers made by writers and advertisers.

Tomatoes are probably more universally “put up” than any other vegetable (actually it’s a fruit) because they’re tasty cooked or uncooked. The number of recipes that can be made from these edible delights are limitless. Mouth watering in soups, sauces, chutneys, sweet and savory pickles and spreads (a scrumptious tomato-honey butter spread on hot biscuits is enough to send any foodie into a food coma) tomatoes are just as delicious in a dessert or as an appetizer. What about the often overlooked green tomato? While they can’t replace the beautiful scarlet, orange and yellow fruit

gracing summer tables and giving us so much pleasure to the eye and palate, a green tomato pie or a spicy green cha cha are well worth the effort. Plant tomatoes in the spring and enjoy them throughout the summer, then in the fall with the season waning and tomatoes ripening slowly in the autumn sun and with vines loaded with green fruit make good use of the “love apple”. Treat yourself. staff@greencityleader.com Suggested tomato set out date: May 15

Why buy local?

When you make a purchase from a local business, you’re doing a great deal more than purchasing a product or service. The power of your dollars spent within your local community is powerful because you’re helping to keep your family, friends and neighbors employed. They in turn, make local purchases that keep community small business doors open. When local businesses prosper the community reaps the benefits of working residents, civic improvement and better educational and cultural facilities leading to an overall thriving community and better way of life for all. The future economic development of all areas of Omaha depends on your dollars. Support local area businesses, mom & pops, home businesses and garage setups--everyone matters!

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GREENCITYLEADER.COM WINTER 2015 * VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1

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Dirty rotten scoundrels When illegal dumping isn’t taken seriously we’re all left paying the cleanup costs. What can we do? Catching someone in the act of dumping poses a frustrating problem for authorities because it’s hard catching them red-handed, therefore it must be a shared community effort. Never confront anyone dumping, instead get whatever information you’re able to safely obtain and turn that information over to authorities. Information such as the year, make and model of any vehicles present, the location of the dump and time of day and any description of people present at the site. Video and photographs are extremely beneficial during an investigation. Later check with authorities to see if there’s been any progress or any new information concerning the dumping. This encourages authorities to take the matter of dumping seriously and to become proactive in prosecuting these criminals. Once a few culprits are nabbed, publicly shamed and dealt with accordingly it’s likely the business of illegal dumping will decline or come to an end all together. One possible beneficial side effect of combating dumping is the possibility of increasing revenues for the city. Those monies could be allocated toward the betterment of the particular neighborhoods plagued by illegal dumping. Why should you care? Dumping is a victimizing crime. It’s costly-financially, environmentally and socially to property owners, to residents living

C. D. COOPER PUBLISHER/EDITOR cdcooper@greencityleader.com

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Photo by C.D. COOPER The City of Omaha didn’t respond to requests for information concerning the amount of money taxpayers pay yearly cleaning up illegal dumpsites. However, with cleanup costs mounting elsewhere in other US cities municipalities are fighting back. Recently the City of Los Angeles reported spending approximately $12 million cleaning up illegal waste. Los Angeles’ Bureau of Sanitation’s call center reported receiving approximately 600,000 service requests of which at least of 65 percent of the calls involved illegal dumping. As a solution Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti formed a task force to combat the issue by targeting known illegal dump sites in an effort to catch the criminals and follow through with prosecution; setting the tone that dumping would no longer be tolerated in the city of Los Angeles. In Omaha, as caring citizens we shouldn’t wait around for authorities and the powers that be to handle illegal dumping on their own. Nor should we expect the issue to resolve itself overnight. Neighborhood associations and residents living in every neighborhood of the city play vital roles in combating illegal dumping, littering and blight. Organizing neighborhood cleanups, notifying city officials of troublesome properties, reporting, asking for cleanup assistance (in addition to lighting and signs), removing graffiti swiftly, keeping streets clean through encouraging recycling and waste-reducing initiatives, cutting back trees and brush and keeping vacant lot lawns trimmed are good starting points. What we can’t do is sit idle; watching the garbabge pile up. We’re all impacted.

in neighborhoods prone to dumping, area businesses, wildlife and the City of Omaha. As a property owner you’re responsible for maintaining not only your property but public property adjoining your property such as walkways. If someone dumps there you’re responsible for cleanup or footing the bill for having someone else do it, even if the city does it for you. Highly littered areas commonly see higher levels of crime, anti-social behavior and businesses struggling ( while others leave and new businesses refuse to move in), this encourages further community decline and economic downfall.

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What can you do as a property owner? •Maintain your property and use it regularly. •Report illegal dumpers to authorities for prosecution. •Sue those caught dumping on your property.

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MORE online at greencityleader.com

“Littering and dumping portray a negative perception of our city, our community and our neighborhoods. It is a problem that requires a partnership of our government, organizations and citizens, who enjoy the benefits of a clean community.” -City of Omaha, Public Works Website (10-6-2014)

Comments, story ideas, events, suggestions or advertising inquiries should be sent to: Calandra Ferguson, Green City Leader, PO Box 111336, Omaha, NE. 68111, Call 213-375-5911 or Email: cferguson@greencityleader.com.