THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603080247
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Susan Smith and Eric Feber
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
The Deep Creek Ruritan Club recently gave Mary Stowe its ``Citizen of the Year'' award.
They made a good choice when they picked the Greenbrier resident.
Stowe is the type of caring person anyone would love to have as a neighbor, said club publicity chairman Mike Kirsch.
``Mrs. Stowe was recognized for her long-time support of the Ruritan Club's efforts to provide recreational opportunities for patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Hampton,'' Kirsch said.
He said Stowe would accompany club members on their routine quarterly visits to lonely and sometimes depressed V.A. hospital patients. She helped set up and provide bingo games and hosted picnics for the patients.
``Often, at her own expense, Mrs. Stowe prepared sandwiches and desserts to take with her on her visits to the hospital,'' Kirsch said. Loose limbs
The recent winter storms meant extra work for the city's clean-up crews.
Since the ``Blizzard of '96'', the Public Works Solid Waste Management crews of 12 automated, 16 rear loader and 10 hydraulic garbage trucks have been scooping full time around the city trying to keep businesses and neighborhoods clean while gathering downed branches and tree limbs.
This week a new record was set as trash, garbage and special pick-up crews joined forces to make the first complete tour of the city since almost back-to-back snow and ice storms hit town.
During an ordinary work week, city collectors keep Chesapeake clean as they provide pick-up in four 10-hour work days.
But since the winter storms, crews worked six days a week and still have not made a complete sweep of Chesapeake until this week.
Thomas H. Westbrook, assistant public works director, said crews will make one more complete gathering expedition of Chesapeake to collect the last of the downed limbs and trees before returning to the regular schedule.
Westbrook said that immediately after each storm, the collectors worked closely with the street maintenance division to remove branches, limbs and trees from streets and roads.
Once the streets were cleared, Westbrook explained the priority went to the removal of household waste to prevent health hazards.
As time and trucks permitted, crews worked neighborhood by neighborhood gathering the wood debris.
Westbrook also said citizens had been a great help by cutting the limbs and trees into small sections and stacking the debris curbside. He said it was easier and faster when the truck's grapple arm could grab the debris and roll to the next wood pile.
The winter storms caused 15 times as many tons of waste removal as was hauled away last February. The Public Works office is still calculating the impact of the storms on the disposal budget.
Does Westbrook anticipate any more severe winter weather to plague the city?
``No,'' he said, somewhat hopefully. by CNB