Editors Note: This story originally ran in the March 22 edition, the date of the cleanup has changed and this story has been updated to reflect the change.
GRANTS, NM - ‘Old Man Winter’ may chase us into spring, but longer days will soon lead to warmer days. Warmer weather and lengthened daylight hours draw people from the confines of dwellings and into the yard. The need to declutter, rid ourselves of rubbish, and bring out warm-weather clothes while putting away cold gear may force us to make room.
Saturday, April 22, the City of Grants will have rollaway trash containers placed at nine locations throughout the city. City of Grants Code Enforcement Officer Robert Windhorst wants the community to take full advantage of these cleanups. “We will have front-end loaders to pile the trash into, and it will dump it into the bin.”
These bins will be placed at their locations Friday afternoon and picked up Saturday afternoon. However, Mr. Windhorst stated the containers could be collected as early as 11 am Saturday morning. “Let people know they can start using the trash bins as soon as they are put out Friday, so people aren’t showing up last minute to discover the containers are already gone or in the process of being taken away.”
Big Banners will be placed on fences across the street from the area containers will be placed the Monday before the event. The idea behind these cleanups is to help residents keep their property clean and end illegal dumping in county areas.
There will be no tire dumpster. The City of Grants does not pick up heavy items such as washers, dryers, fridge and other things....the Village of Milan will do that with their cleanup on April 15, 2023. The Village of Milan will host their community clean up on April 15 at the courthouse. County cleanup for rural towns such as Cubero, San Fidel, San Rafael, Bluewater Village, and other locations will also occur soon.
He also stated the city tried placing dumpsters at parks and other places around the city, but some citizens abused the privilege. “We placed signs and other warnings not to overfill the trash containers, but the trash ended up piles around the containers. City crews would have to go and clean up the mess, so we just removed them.”
“I am excited about these cleanups because they make a big difference to the community. We have members from the city council, mayor, and city manager come out to assist during these cleanups. We have had 50-60 tons of trash hauled off these sites.” The Code Enforcer said.
30-yard containers will be delivered after 3:00 pm on Friday, March 31, and picked up at 12 noon on Saturday, April 1.
Locations: Kiwanis Park: Corner of Melvin and Vernon Elm Park: 1150 Elm Future Foundation Center: 549 Washington Fire Department Sub Station: 704 Truman San Jose Park: San Jose Drive: MOC: 1400 Lobo Canyon Road Grants Police Department: 105 E. Roosevelt Mirabal Park: Gabaldon Hill Wells Park: 800 Sakelares