By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The DeWitt Advisory Conservation Commission (DACC) held its monthly meeting on Sept. 4, discussing the upcoming fall cleanup the commission has planned.
The annual cleanup will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.
The two meeting spots for those volunteering will be Robbie T’s Pizza on 4625 North St. in Jamesville and the lunch room on the first floor of the DeWitt Town Hall at 5400 Butternut Drive in East Syracuse.
“The strategy is to clean in the fall so it’s not so bad in the spring,” Dennis Payne, the chair of the commission, said.
Payne said at some point in the future he would like to make the annual cleanup a county-wide event involving other communities like Manlius.
He said the fall cleanup serves as a worthwhile experience for high school students looking to rack up volunteer hours and anyone wishing to protect the environment.
“People need to be responsible,” Payne said. “When you see litter on the side of the road, it eventually washes downhill into the streams and creeks. It affects the stormwater runoff, which ends up at some point in our drinking water.”
He said the trash around the community also ends up being an “eyesore.”
The cleanup will go on rain or shine, unless the weather conditions end up creating safety concerns.
Payne said he wants at least one group of volunteers this year to clean up the area stretching from the Marshalls & HomeGoods on Erie Boulevard East to Bridge Street.
He said he advises all helpers to be vigilant of traffic while cleaning.
Robbie T’s Pizza will be serving free pizza to fall cleanup volunteers.
Refreshments courtesy of Wegmans, including doughnuts, bagels, coffee and juice, will be provided at the town hall.
Individuals interested but unable to clean up on Sept. 28 can contact Dennis Payne at 315-469-0565 or [email protected] to schedule another day to help out, in which case Payne will meet with them to provide garbage bags, OCCRA stickers and safety vests.
Volunteers can also work during any part of the three-hour stretch on Sept. 28.
At the same time as the annual cleanup, Assembly member Pamela Hunter will be hosting an electronics recycling event in the ShoppingTown Mall parking lot behind the former Macy’s.
For a list of acceptable items to recycle at the event, visit sunnking.com/consumer-business/acceptable-materials.
Those interested in dropping off electronics are encouraged to contact Hunter’s office at 315-449-9536.
The DeWitt Advisory Conservation Commission (DACC) meets the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B of the DeWitt Town Hall. Meetings are open to the public.
Additional Notes
During the meeting Jonathan Kresge, a biology teacher at Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES and a self-proclaimed “bat enthusiast,” shared findings about species of bats he has encountered in the DeWitt area.
Kresge conducted an informal survey of local bats over the summer with the use of mist netting, radio telemetry and acoustic recordings.
He also played audio of sample calls he picked up from different bat species.
