Historical May 1984 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
It is the BLITZ time of the year again. Saturday, May 12 will be the third annual Operation Brightside-Project BLITZ.
It seems, however, that some were not going to wait for May 12 to beautify the neighborhood.
On April 7, a crew of volunteers assembled at the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council Office for a major tree-planting campaign. Organized by Area A Commander Sam Green and Bill FitzGibbons, Kim Lutjens, Ruth Beckloff, Larry Beckler, Arline Itzi, Phil Cary, Mary Wachter, Neville Vatcha, Patrick Shuck, Bob Dowgwillo, and neighborhood children pitched in to plant eight trees on Des Peres and placed mulch on the others planted last year.
These volunteers should be commended for their good work.
The trees were provided by the St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry with the direct assistance of Gary Bess.
Our appreciation is extended to Mr. Bess and the department for their continuing support of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Garden Club.
The Fire Department also pitched in; Mike Davis from the DeBaliviere Station assisted with watering the newly planted trees.
This was a great beginning for this spring’s BLITZ.
Some residents may be asking: What is BLITZ? BLITZ is a one-day cleanup and beautification of neighborhood alleys, streets, yards, vacant lots, and other areas.
The residents, homeowners, and tenants work together to beautify their neighborhood. Operation Brightside, an agency of the City of St. Louis, provides the special support services needed for the cleanup. Everything from trash bags, tools, flowers, top soil, railroad ties, trash trucks to special equipment will be available during the BLITZ.
Each year this one-day mass cleanup of the neighborhoods by the residents has become more and more successful.
This year promises to be the best yet.
Everyone is asked to participate by getting out and cleaning up.
The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. Trash pickup will proceed according to a schedule starting at 9 a.m. Trash bags and tools will be available from Block Captains and the Area Commanders. A. Trucks will come by more than once; B.
Each truck can take only one type of refuse shown by the sign on the truck; C. Do not worry about trash pickup until after 4 p.m.; D.
Please stop putting trash out at 3 p.m.; E. Call the headquarters-862-5122—for trucks for special projects. Remember these trash instructions: Place everything at normal collection points, usually in the alley.
Please separate the trash for recycling: A. Place all small items into the trash receptacle, being careful not to overload. Be careful not to overload and puncture the plastic bags; B. Put large metal items, e.g., stoves, into one pile; C. Put other large items into another pile; D. Nothing should be within 4 feet of the dumpster; E. Do not block the alleys, streets or sidewalks with bulky items. F. Do not put refuse on private property.
The May 12 BLITZ can be your opportunity to earn a little extra cash. Brightside will pay cash for newspapers (1 cent per pound), glass bottles and jars (1 cent per pound), and aluminum cans (34 cents per pound).
These recyclable materials will be accepted at your Region’s Headquarters, the SDCC Office, 6008 Kingsbury, by the Mobile Circus Recycling Center Unit, and should be handled as follows: A.
All materials must be bagged or bundled separately; B. Clear glass must be separated from green and amber; C. Newspapers must be dry; D.
All recyclable materials must be at your Regional Headquarters for weighing and paying by 4 p.m.
The mobile recycling unit is a new feature for the 1984 BLITZ.
Another special feature is the Anheuser-Busch Special Project for cash awards.
The categories for prizes are as follows: A. Beautification/planting and cleanup; B.
Each region will win $100 per category.
This prize money will be contributed by each region’s businesses.
The winners from each region will be eligible for the Grand Prize, city-wide competition.
The Grand Prize of $1,000 per category has been donated by Anheuser-Busch Company.
The organizational structure of the BLITZ has proven to be extremely effective.
The City of St. Louis is divided into 10 Regions, each Region is divided into Areas, each Area is divided into Blocks, and each Block is divided into residents.
The volunteers are organized on a pyramid structure; each Region has Regional Chairmen who are responsible for organizing the Area Commanders who are responsible for organizing Block Captains. Region 6 includes the area of the City bounded by the city limits on the west, Martin Luther King Drive on the north, Kingshighway on the east, Lindell on the South, and the sliver of the city just west of Forest Park.
The Region is divided into nine areas with commanders responsible for each.
To find out which Area you are in and who is your Area Commander, call the Regional Headquarters at the SDCC office, 6008 Kingsbury, telephone 862-5122. Mark your calendars for May 12, BLITZ Saturday.
Original photograph caption
Brightside tree planting on Des Peres. From left: Sam Green, Bob Dougwillo and Michael Thompson. Photo by King Schoenfeld. The Paper, May 1984, page 1.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1984.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1984_05.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 8; PDF page(s) 1, 8.
