Partnering
Leads To Successful Cleanup Along Railroad Bed
Volunteers from
the Target store in Altoona partnered with the Allegheny/Portage Railroad
National Historic Site and PA CleanWays of Blair County to remove one
large dump and nearly 30 smaller dumps from a 2.5-mile section of the
former New Portage Railroad bed on June 1, 2002 that runs from Valley
Forge Road to old route 22. Fifteen volunteers worked for four hours
removing nearly eight tons of garbage, construction debris and household
furniture from the area, between Valley Forge Road and old Route 22.
Blair County Solid Waste and Recycling removed 55 tires for proper disposal.
The PA Game Commission paid for the roll-off container and tipping fees
for the large dump. Burgmeier's Hauling donated a second roll-off container
for the remaining trash. Tipping fees for the second roll-off were paid
for by the park. Papa John's provided lunch for the volunteers.
The access road along the railroad bed, once open to vehicular traffic,
had been dumped on for years. While some of the road is PA Game Commission
right-of-way, the majority is from the former New Portage Railroad which
ran from the 1850's to the 1950's. Gates were installed at either end
of the road to restrict vehicle access.
Following the cleanup, Keith Newlin, assistant park superintendent,
said, "I'm just extremely pleased, because it's been a number of years
that we have been trying to remove these illegal dumps. Illegal dumping
is not permitted in national parks. This cleanup will allow the National
Park Service to monitor the area and quickly react to any future dumping.
I want to applaud PA CleanWays of Blair County and the Target employees
for the successful effort."
"The
Target Volunteers at T1160 are proud to be able to assist local agencies
in the community. Thank you to all our team members who volunteered
and also to PA CleanWays, the National Park Service and the Game Commission
for helping to make our Operation Clean Up America a Success. Locally
our store has done over 100 volunteer projects with at least 75% of
our team members donating their time to one project or another. We also
have team members that sit on the committee's of March of Dimes, Relay
for Life, Junior Achievement, Geriatric Interest and the United Way
Advisory Committee". said Sandy Zettle, coordinator for Target.
