In the last 30 days, the City of Iola has hauled away thousands of truckloads of debris for individual households — twice.
The first was the city’s biannual citywide pickup in mid-April, where residents left out anything from old carpet to rusted fencing as well as lawn clippings and limbs.
The second clean-up — still ongoing — is after the terrific May 3 thunderstorm that uprooted massive trees, stripped limbs and downed power lines. A good chunk of the city lost power for most of the day, with some parts going two days.
Electricians are just about done repairing the lines, according to Corey Schinstock, interim city administrator.
In a brief visit with Dan Leslie, superintendent for Streets and Sanitation, this most recent cleanup is a much bigger job than the first, especially for the south side of town.
Some yards were so badly hit that they require four to five truckloads to carry away the piles of dismembered tree limbs.
City crews perform much of the downsizing, using their chainsaws to slice and splice massive limbs so they’ll fit in the dump truck.
Leslie estimated Tuesday’s tally alone would top 200 loads to the county landfill. They hope to complete the massive project by week’s end.
THIS IS but one of the differences between living in a big city and a small town.
In a city, such duties are the responsibility of private homeowners.
In Iola, it comes courtesy of being a taxpayer.
It’s worth every penny. Thanks, Iola.
— Susan Lynn
