These good folks picked up other people's trash from our Mahoning River

YOUNGSTOWN

In a short time, Robin Mattheus went from being unaware of a trail along the Mahoning River to removing plastic silverware and the occasional alcohol bottle from it.

“This is where people come for walks; it’s so accessible,” Mattheus said, referring to a narrow pathway that parallels the river and that he helped beautify.

Mattheus is a Youngstown State University assistant geology professor who moved to the area about two years ago from Clinton, N.Y. He also was among about 25 people who rolled up their sleeves to take part in Saturday’s cleanup on and next to the path along the river near the B&O Station Banquet Hall, 530 Mahoning Ave.

Spearheading the three-hour effort to collect trash were the YSU Geological Society, Friends of the Mahoning River and Green Youngstown, noted Amanda Keith, conservation coordinator with the Sierra Club’s Clean Water campaign in Northeast Ohio.

“We want people to come out to the river,” Keith said. “There’s a lot of opportunity. We’re trying to change people’s minds.”

Read more about the effort and participants in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.