WEATHERSFIELD TOWNSHIP Trustees restart spring cleanup

Tires and building debris will not be accepted in this year's cleanup.
By MARY R. SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Township trustees approved a contract for $17,000 with Wolford's Refuse and Recycling, McDonald, to resurrect the annual spring cleanup program this year in a modified form.
Township administrator David Pugh explained that some services provided as part of the cleanup in the past will be eliminated from the cleanup this year, which helped to reduce the cost and make the program affordable.
Pugh said that tires will not be picked up, since the township participates through a Trumbull County grant each August in a used tire pickup and recycling program, with a limit of four per household.
He said that there will no longer be collection of building debris and yard waste under the clean-up program. Pugh explained that building debris caused the trash haulers to have to separate the materials from other cleanup items because they could not go to the same landfill.
He added that the township is and will continue to pick up tree limbs for residents if they are bundled, or crews can come out and use a grinder on them if residents contact the township to request the service.
The cleanup had to be canceled the past two years because bids had come in much higher than the township could afford.
Two bids were received: Wolford's, at $17,000, and Nationswaste Inc., Youngstown, $25,960.
Township trustees said that the bids were opened last Thursday and since they were just awarded at Tuesday's session, dates must still be set for the cleanup.
Strike costs: In other matters:
UTownship Attorney William Roux reported that a hearing has been set for 1:30 p.m. April 17 before Judge John M. Stuard, Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, to recoup costs from United Steelworkers of America AFL-CIO 2155 for police services during the RMI strike in 1999.
Roux said that the first half of money the township claimed it was owed was paid, leaving an estimated $60,000 balance, including interest on the unpaid portion.
UFire Chief Randy Pugh reminded the board that open burning is against fire code and when complaints come in, the fire department will come and put the fire out. He said a verbal warning will be issued for the first offense, a written one for the second and a third offense will result in the property owner being cited into court.
URandy Pugh added that the fire department has six firefighters who have volunteered to be part of a Tactical Team that will be specially trained to go into fires and rescue injured individuals. The firefighters are being trained through the Institute of Safety Service Training.
Randy Pugh added that the department is applying for a grant through the State Emergency Medical Services in April to help pay for the purchase of Auto Electrical Defibrillators, which cost $5,200 each. He said the department has 24 first responders, a team of basic Emergency Medical Technicians who usually arrive at the scene of an accident or fire before private paramedics arrive, adding the equipment could help save more lives.