The beauty of cleanliness

Cleaning trash from the sides of the roadway may not sound like much fun to some, but to Amenia Councilwoman Vicki Doyle there are few better ways to spend the weekend. It’s not because she enjoys picking up litter, but because she relishes the end result — a cleaner, brighter, more eco-friendly town.That’s why, for the past seven years while she’s been in office, Doyle has organized annual spring cleanup days, corraling volunteers from around town to help clear away dirt and debris along Route 22 and other thoroughfares in Amenia. Doyle’s efforts are made on behalf of the Enhancement Committee, which works in unison with the town’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC); the two organize the typically well-attended event. This year the cleanup was held on Saturday, April 30.What makes the day such a success is that there are so many others who participate as well: Boy Scouts, Lions Club members, members of Earthworks (all of whom are in the Adopt-a-Highway program), as well as members of the highway department, Town Board, transfer station and local residents, among others.“These people are outrageous,” Doyle said of the volunteers, noting their efforts stem back more than 20 years, to when Jack Rooney manned the transfer station and people lined the streets to drop off trash collected from around town. “It’s important to thank everyone, and impossible, but they know who they are.”Doyle named Jim Fraleigh and John Culligan, in particular, who run the town’s transfer station these days, as key players in the cleanup’s success. She said the pair makes sure there are extra helpers and Dumpsters to accommodate all the rubbish.“They are always eager to support these efforts, though it is so much extra work for them,” Doyle stated. “They wanted to accept free household trash at the station this year for those who suffered from the floods in Wassaic, but with the tight budget, [town Supervisor] Wayne [Euvrard] didn’t think we could do it this year.” While Doyle is quick to commend others, as is this paper along with her, we also want to shower some of that praise onto the councilwoman herself. She has stayed true to the cause of cleaning up Amenia and making the town as beautiful as it can be. Aside from transforming the streets from sooty to sparkling every spring, Doyle helps with the Garden Club’s daffodil project each fall. That entails hundreds of bulbs being doled out to residents free of charge, so they can be planted throughout the town in time for full bloom come April. The Garden Club, an arm of the Enhancement Committee, also helps clear out the whiskey barrels every year, which then have new flowers planted inside for a pretty and pristine look throughout the hamlets of Wassaic and Amenia. The clean roads, manicured streets, fresh flowers, tidy planters — they all add to the charm of the town and, as Doyle will explain to anyone who will listen, help Amenia work toward its unending goal of economic development. The work might seem inconsequential, but it’s not, it all contributes to the big picture — to the prosperity and preservation of an active and beautiful town’s identity, i.e., Amenia.