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THE ABINGTON s
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The Voice of The AbingTons
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Green Scene
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Borough prepares for cleaning blitz this weekend
Around Town
Sports
April 23, 2015
Sprucing up the Summit
ON THE INSIDE See what’s happening in our area Page 4
SUBURBAN
by Stephanie Longo
ABINGTON SUBURBAN EDITOR
It’s the community that keeps Clarks Summit beautiful. That’s the overwhelming sentiment gracing borough streets this Saturday, April 25, when members of the Abington Business Association (ABPA), borough officials and residents will participate in a borough-wide cleanup in honor of Earth Day. ABPA members and friends will gather at the Clarks Summit Borough Building, 304 S. State St., at 9 a.m., to help spruce up a stretch of State Street from the borough line on Routes 6 and 11 to the intersection of State and Grove streets. Depending on the amount of volunteers who come to assist, they will also help clean up side streets, such as Depot Street and the future site of the Finish Shop Pocket Park. According to ABPA president Gail Rees, this year’s cleanup is round two of a partnership forged with Clarks Summit Borough officials. “Last year, as the borough of Clarks Summit was making plans to acknowledge Earth Day, borough manager Virginia Kehoe approached me to see if the ABPA would be interested in spearheading a town cleanup,” she said. “Of course, as president of the organization, I felt it was appropriate to involve the ABPA in the project as another means to increase our value and visibility within the Abingtons. We registered with the Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania website, which enabled us to get supplies, such as safety vests, gloves and trash bags donated by PennDOT and Keep America Beautiful.” For those who wish to spruce up their own residences, especially now that income tax season is over, Frontier Communications and Clarks Summit Borough Mayor Patty Lawler are sponsoring “Shred-Fest” at the Clarks Summit Elementary School, 401 W. Grove St. From 9 a.m. to noon, residents can bring up to four bags or boxes of any documentation they would like shredded and give it to the “Purple People Eater.” An optional $5 donation for shredding will benefit the construction of the Finish Shop Pocket Park.
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Participants in last year’s borough-wide clean up in Clarks Summit are pictured, from left: Gail Rees, Leah Rudolph, Warren Watkins, Patty Lawler, Barry Kaplan and Steven Vale. This year’s cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 25.
“It’s an opportunity for residents to safely get rid of documents with personal information and help the community at the same time,” Lawler said. “We are always on a mission to ‘go green’ in Clarks Summit. Mascaro and Sons sponsored our Earth Day advertising and Frontier Communications will sponsor the shredding truck. Even our local Boy Scout Troop 160 is getting involved as they will be on hand to help with the boxes. We are environmentally friendly in Clarks Summit and events like the cleanup and Shred-Fest this weekend are just one way we show that commitment.” Various community groups and organizations will also be out beautifying the borough, including the Abington Rotary Club, the Abington Lions Club, the Clarks Summit United Methodist Church, the Abington
Girl Scouts and The Gathering Place. Rees said any other community groups or organizations wishing to participate can contact her at 570-587-0505. “As stewards of the community, the Abington Business and Professional Association looks to foster partnerships within our market and, besides, we owe it to Mother Nature to ‘pay it forward,’” Rees said. “Wouldn’t it be ideal if we didn’t have to wait for Earth Day to care for our environment?” Clarks Summit Borough is also encouraging residents to sweep up cinders or gravel in front of their homes. If residents are willing to do so, they can call the borough offices at 570-586-9316 during the week of April 27 to May 1 and the Department of Public Works will pick up and recycle them.