SitemapA set of worn-out automobile tires here. A moldy and soiled mattress there. A beaten and banged-up water tank amid shards of glass everywhere.
Those and other pieces of rancid trash and unsightly debris – when irresponsibly dumped on properties – pile up to create a serious public-health threat for individuals and a foul public image for communities. After all, who wants their hometown to be branded a dump? Certainly not Younsgstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown who this week launched a promising citywide offensive against the foul practice of illegal dumping. We commend Brown and other city officials for this long-overdue, get-tough initiative. But in order for it to be as effective as possible, it must be greeted with full-throttle support and cooperation from city residents and the criminal justice system.
ILLEGAL DUMPS PROLIFERATE
The proliferation of makeshift dump sites throughout the city (and throughout many other areas of the Mahoning Valley) is sad to see, given the heightened public consciousness about litter control and responsible recycling. But for whatever reason – cost, convenience, slothfulness – many individuals have no qualms about stooping so low as to intentionally threaten the health and well-being of their community. Mayor Brown on Monday made it perfectly clear he’s had enough of it, and he’s not going to take it any more. “No longer will we accept dumping in city neighborhoods,” the mayor declared at the site of a large pile of trash and debris outside a former Moose Club on Glenmont Avenue in the storied Brier Hill neighborhood on the city’s North Side. Shortly after his announcement, the area was cleaned and the club razed. That process easily can be repeated dozens and dozens of times over across the city. Each new dump site detracts from the ongoing progress made by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and others in ridding blocks of blight and stimulating renewed pride and investment.