By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

On March 31, volunteers gathered at the south lot of Bob Smith Toyota to take part in Foothill Cleanup Day. The event is aligned with Keep America Beautiful – Great American Cleanup that launched on March 20. The foothill event was coordinated by Glendale Clean & Beautiful and the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“Glendale is unique,” said Sam Engel Jr. of Glendale Clean & Beautiful. “We have five thoroughfares throughout Glendale.”

The Saturday cleanup began with a continental breakfast at the lot at 9 a.m., followed with instruction by Engel as to how the morning duties would play out. He demonstrated how the tools provided should be used and stressed the importance of safety. He explained the importance of cleaning the public thoroughfare, including preventing the transport of trash to the ocean via the sewer system. He cited the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge floating island of debris composed of large and small items, mainly plastic.

“We don’t want to contribute to that,” Engel said.

Four work groups formed, two going west and two going east on both sides of the street. Under the supervision of an experienced cleanup person, each group picked up trash for about two hours, making their way back to the lot where lunch was waiting. To make the cleanup more fun, CV Chamber board member and GUSD principal Cynthia Livingston announced that the chamber had hidden Easter eggs along the route.

The volunteers ranged from students looking for community service hours to members of the Rosemont Builders Club to Scouts who have made the annual day of service part of their routine.

Mary Ann Novoa was part of the group that calendars the cleanup each year.

“We’ve been doing it about four years,” she said. “It’s part of our yearly routine. It’s a neat thing for families to be a part of.”

This was the first time that Lisa Connors took part in the cleanup.

“My son is a Boy Scout and his troop takes part,” she said. Several troops were represented at the cleanup including Scouts from troops 118, 288, 319, 317 and 303 and Cubs from Pack 314.

At the end of the cleanup, the volunteers gathered for lunch as Kaipo Chock of JR Hardware made his way down Foothill to pick up all the filled bags of trash.

  robin goldsworthy