Carole Sweetser, left, Missy Ellis, center, and Angie Howitt collect debris in Rumford in 2021 during the River Valley Community Clean Up. The grassroots initiative for Rumford and Mexico is expanding to Dixfield this year. Rumford Falls Times file photo
RUMFORD — The traditional spring cleanup of roadsides and Androscoggin riverbanks in Rumford and Mexico will include neighboring Dixfield this year. It’s set for Saturday, April 23.
Lisa Arsenault, Tom Bourret and Glenn Gordon of the River Valley Community Cleanup committee will be joined by Laurie “Mink” Woodhead of Dixfield. She will organize cleanup along Route 2 to Twin Rivers Lumber and up Route 142 to the Dirigo Middle School.
“We’ve had some really good feedback from local organizations and businesses that want to help support this effort,” Bourret said.
This is the fourth year of the grassroots environmental initiative, which is held close to Earth Day, which falls on April 22. It has drawn hundreds of volunteers.
The cleanup will be held from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Online sign-ups are underway at: https://www.volunteersignup.org/wpf7a
The first 150 volunteers will receive a special T-shirt. Those who sign up on April 23 will be assigned at the Mexico Town Hall, 134 Main St. starting at 7:30 a.m. Sponsors will provide gloves, trash bags and other supplies.
Archie’s Inc. has donated roll-off trash containers, which will be set up behind the Mexico Town Office, on River Street in downtown Rumford, and behind the Dixfield Town Office.
Those who gather trash but are unable to bring it to the containers can call Glenn Gordon at 207-418-2946 to arrange a pickup.
“It’s amazing the amount of people that have helped us every single year,” Arsenault said. “They say ‘this is my route’ and take pride in that.”
“This is definitely a worthwhile community effort to keep the River Valley as clean as possible,” Bourret said. “Hopefully, this raises an awareness, and people will do their part to keep the roadsides and community clean,” he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.