SAVE MAUMEE’S CANOE CLEAN UP, CAN YOU CLEAN-UP?
Underbelly of the St. Mary’s River Uncovered~What an interesting day and thank you to all Save Maumee’s 60 energetic river workers! Police, a meth amphetamine lab, batteries, full fire extinguisher & spray paint, Kids Dart, Think Smart yard sign, a sink, metal car parts, a carpeted wooden box with incubator like dials attached, 2 wallets complete with driver’s licenses, full size dead cat, Pepsi can from the 1970s, a Cookie Monster hat, thousands of cans/bottles/Styrofoam and cigarette butts, and of course plenty of tampons and fresh water jellyfish to finish the day. We also installed 40 square feet of erosion control mats to keep soil where it belongs.
came from…a.k.a. condoms. Local citizens flush them down the toilet, the combined sewer systems then flush them to the river with as little as 1/10th inch of rainfall. They are not from extracurricular activities on the rivers! Remember, what you flush down your toilets and sinks DO NOT go away, they end up in our rivers. To clarify questions asked about Combined Sewer Overflows please read the Save Maumee’s Blog post here: blog.savemaumee.org/2010/07/05/great-lakes-states%E2%80%99-500-square-miles-of-parking-lots-threaten-water-quality-walkability/
The meth lab, found on the banks of the St. Mary’s by Carrie Morris, the wife of State Senate candidate Jack Morris, and Marlin Rossiter, prompted Bloomingdale Association President to summon the police. What did it look like? It was a yellow tube, about 1/4th inch in diameter and three feet long, attached to a plastic bottle on one end and a plastic bag to the other end. All of this neatly wrapped up with a dozen pseudo-ephedrine cartons in a gallon size zip lock baggie. As Carrie Morris said of the find, “It is important that we, as citizens, take on personal responsibility to look after our city. Save Maumee was impactful today, and I recommend anyone who is concerned about the quality of life in Fort Wayne to join them in their efforts.”
Be very aware that PEOPLE live on your riverbanks in Fort Wayne. Here should be the following understanding regarding trash and these CITIZENS. Save Maumee past and present policy. When you find an area where someone is living on the land, please remove anything that looks like it is decimated to the point of discarding. If a blanket, for example, looks lumped on a shore after being washed in the Maumee River, please remove it. If it appears that your dog would love to cuddle into a warm, dry blanket please leave it exactly how you found it, this may be considered property…Please move along to find other true trash and pollution. It is not difficult to find true rubbish on Fort Wayne’s riverbanks.
This topic came up because a volunteer approached Founder of Save Maumee, Abigail King at 5pm and said, “I feel bad because I think I took someone’s home. I removed a blanket and it was not very dirty. I want to put it back where I found it. I feel like I made a mistake, what should I do.” Abigail responded, “Here is the 30 yard trash container. You can either go through it, find the blanket and return it to the place you found it, or you can pull your warm comforter off your own bed and give it to the riverbanks. There are many homeless people and they will find another blanket to use or a place to sleep if you decide otherwise.” None returned to the previous site.
Save Maumee is sending blankets and sheets next week to the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission as a good will gesture to honor the person who lost their possession and suggests all Fort Wayne citizens to do the same. If there is a used blanket in your closet taking up space, consider making a trip to the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission at 301 W. Superior St. to donate your warm bedding. The Mission said they would graciously accept gently used items. If you are in need because you are missing a blanket, please request one from Fort Wayne Rescue Mission. Fall weather approaches.
Aaron Goulet from Local Level Promotions was the first casualty of the river that day. The first family to disembark on their canoe journey of the day, fell in the Maumee when Aaron all his children in their life-vests, eagerly anticipating their first clean-up departed and flipped as Dad stepped into the boat! Sorry wet river lovers. They dried off and tried another successful attempt!
Save Maumee’s Benefit at Berlin Music Pub brought in $160! Bands included: Twisted Aversion, Rise To Fall, DV8, 11M 12D, Autovator, Blood From A Stone, with the help of B-Rad Music Productions, Twisted Music Entertainment – THANKS to everyone to make this a fun evening for all.
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