Bill McAnany holds a garbage open for his sister, Sami, during a neighborhood cleanup on the West Hill. Sam Plyler is at left.

Bill McAnany holds a garbage open for his sister, Sami, during a neighborhood cleanup on the West Hill. Sam Plyler is at left.

Sami and Bill McAnany and Sam Plyler walked northbound on Boyd Street, pulling garbage out of the ditch on the east side.

The Brookfield High School juniors, participating in the first of what could be four neighborhood cleanups sponsored by Brookfield Township and Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District, had just passed the first driveway and had already filled three 13-gallon trash bags.

Working around jagger bushes and other vegetation, and trying to not get stuck in mud, the trio had collected cans, bottles, plastic packaging and other debris.

“Has anyone who has ever drunk Miller Lite ever thrown their bottle in the trash?” Sam asked facetiously.

“It’s so weird how some of this stuff gets in here,” Bill said, holding up a plastic play ball. “It’s still
inflated so its either really recent, which kind of sucks, or it’s just a legendary ball.”

Nancy and Chuck Fizet

Nancy and Chuck Fizet

The students were part of about 15 people who participated in the cleanup on Aug. 14. They started at
Warren Sharon Road and headed up the West Hill streets toward Lincoln Street.

In addition to the students, representatives of the fire and police departments, the Brookfield Exterior Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board, the Brookfield Township Historic Commission and the Brookfield Rotary Club joined
local residents.

“I think it’s great,” said Chuck Fizet, chairman of the appeals board and a resident of the neighborhood, as
he and his wife, Nancy, covered Grover Street.

“I’m very happy to see the amount of people that showed up,” Fizet said. “I’m glad that (township trustee)
Dan (Suttles) was able to secure the grant, which assisted with all these costs.”

The grant from the solid waste district paid for bags, gloves, vests, grabbing instruments and a rolloff
garbage disposal container.

Suttles said the cleanup attracted a cross-section of the community.

“I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the droves of people show up this morning,” he said.

All told, 40, 13-gallon bags were filled. Stray signs, boxes and pieces of metal that wouldn’t fit in the bags also were collected.

“From looking at as much litter as we picked up, there’s a need,” said Suttles, who, with his wife, Carolyn, handed out hot dogs, chips and water to the participants.

Under the grant application, the township is supposed to hold three more cleanups. One will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 25 on the south side of Warren Sharon Road. Volunteers are to meet at Ohio and Syme streets.

Dates for cleanups in the Valley View and Stevenson Heights neighborhoods have not been set.

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