Litter sullies city Christmas parade
Volunteers with the Washington Business District Authority clean up litter Monday on South Main Street.
Trash left behind after Friday’s Christmas parade in Washington remained strewn along South Main Street Monday morning.
Holiday cheer wasn’t the only remnant of Washington’s annual Christmas parade and light-up night.
Over the weekend, city streets were lined with cups, candy wrappers and other debris from the festivities.
“It was a great evening. A lot of people came,” said Ken Westcott, city councilman and head of the street department. “If only people would have shown a little initiative and threw stuff away. There are garbage cans all over the city.”
Thousands of people lined Main Street Friday for the parade and light-up night, which has been held for more than 30 years. Organizers said crowds were larger than normal, thanks to a precipitation-free evening.
Pete Stefansky, manager of the Washington Business District Authority, sponsor of the event, said a large crowd equals a large mess. He and other volunteers were out cleaning Monday in an attempt to restore sidewalks to pre-parade standards.
“A lot of extra people were here, so that leaves lots of extra trash,” Stefansky said.
“We try to get as much of a handle on it as we can. We’ll be out here as long as it takes,” he said. “A lot of people were in the city, and that’s what we want.”
Matt Uram, parade chairman and member of the WBDA, said the resulting mess is worth the trouble.
“What I would say is to have patience. We’re not in an economic environment where we can spend overtime and pay on the weekends to clean the trash up. As far as the city goes, they’ve always done a great job cleaning the streets after the parade,” Uram said. “The value of having an event like this – a Christmas parade in the city of Washington versus having trash afterward – the value goes to the parade every time.”