Saturday's Conno Creek cleanup sees top turnout
By Paula Grubbs, Eagle Staff Writer
Folks of all ages, backgrounds and abilities joined forces to remove 1,171 tires and three large dumpsters full of trash from the Connoquenessing Creek.
The Allegheny Aquatic Alliance's 9th annual Connoquenessing Creek Cleanup on Saturday saw crews enter the water in Jackson Township and many other accesses along the waterway pulling canoes, which they filled with garbage and debris pulled out of the creek.
The muddy workers then hauled the boats up to the next access downstream, where yet other crews loaded the tractor tires, metal tanks, bed frames and all manner of garbage onto trailers for disposal and recycling.
Mike Handley, president of the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance, said about 150 volunteers showed up at 8 a.m. at Living Faith Baptist Church just outside of Zelienople.
The crews were treated to breakfast provided by the church before being split into teams and assigned to their tasks.
Handley called the turnout “phenomenal.”
“I think it's fantastic,” he said. “It's going to make for a lot easier work with more hands.”
Read more in Monday's Butler Eagle.