Volunteers needed for joint Earth Day cleanup by Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge

People who want to get down and dirty to help Mother Nature can volunteer at an Earth Day program hosted by three local communities.

Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge are having their first-ever joint event to rid the roads and parks of pop cans, candy wrappers, tires and other trash.

It is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 22.

“It’s a great step for bonding the three communities,” Brackenridge Councilman Dino Lopreiato said. “It can make a huge difference when everyone participates. You don’t have to go out with a big group, but just to do around your own property can make a big difference.”

Each of the three municipalities has hosted a cleanup in the past.

The former Brackenridge Improvement Group sponsored the litter cleanup for at least five years, Lopreiato said.

He said it yielded an impressive turnout and spruced up the town.

Tarentum also has hosted a cleanup for at least four or five years, Councilwoman Carrie Fox said.

With a dozen or so volunteers, she said, the effort cleared about 40 bags of garbage from the streets and green spaces.

“Every little bit that comes off the street is a plus,” Fox said.

There is no cost to the communities. Vests, gloves and garbage bags will be provided.

Afterward, organizers are having a picnic for everyone in Tarentum’s Riverview Memorial Park.

“It’s a real opportunity for community spirit,” Tarentum Councilwoman Lou Ann Homa said.

In past years, Harrison Commissioner Chuck Dizard has registered the township’s event with the Great American Cleanup, a nationwide program that sees participation from more than 15,000 communities.

Past efforts have been wildly successful, he said, with volunteers deployed to many different neighborhoods.

Cub Scouts typically have cleared trash along California Avenue near the school district’s ballfields.

Another large group treks along Pleasantville Road behind Allegheny Valley Hospital, and yet another group targets the alley behind Sheetz and the former Burger King.

In Natrona, volunteers hauled away dozens of old TVs and other furniture from alleys.

“Last year, we had two big industrial dumpters that were totally filled,” Dizard said.

To volunteer, call Fox at 724-448-1470, Lopreiato at 412-609-3969 or Dizard at 724-681-3194.