A row of trash bags, full of roadside litter are lined up during the 2021 Trash for Cash program in Boone County. These bags were collected by Randall K. Cooper High School students. Provided photo | Boone County Solid Waste

Fort Wright will hold its 13th Clean Up Day on Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants will receive a free T-shirt and a boxed lunch. Anyone interested should contact Jeff Bethell, Fort Wright Public Works Director, to RSVP.

Community Improvement Committee organizes this event. Council member Margie Witt, head of the Community Improvement Committee, started the Clean Up Day in 2010.

LINK caught up with Witt to ask about Clean Up Day and community improvement.

“I think [Clean Up Day] is a great way to meet your neighbors and have a concrete, positive impact on your community,” Witt said. “It’s also a good opportunity for kids to learn about why litter is bad and how they can help.”

Witt also runs a group of around seven volunteers who regularly pick up trash on Fort Wright streets, outside of Clean Up Day. Since the beginning of the year, those volunteers have collected 49 bags of trash. That’s in addition to the hard work that the Public Works Department puts into collecting trash.

“We don’t have to hit those streets then on Clean Up Day,” Witt said.

Fort Wright residents interested in joining the regular clean up effort should reach out to Witt or Mayor Dave Hatter.

Currently, the Community Improvement Committee doesn’t have any plans outside of the regular clean ups. “We’ve addressed all the big stuff on our list for now,” Witt said. “Unless council brings up an issue, we’re caught up.”