It was a very busy Sunday on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. It was the official launch of "Operation Clean Sweep," organized by the newly formed Oyster Bay Clean Sweep Committee (OBCSC), with representatives from the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Oyster Bay Civic Association, the Main Street Association, and Friends of the Bay. Helped by members of the Oyster Bay Fire Department and the Atlantic Steamer Fire Department, Dodds & Eder, both Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and a large contingent of volunteers from the Centro Cultural Hispanico - cleaned up the hamlet.

At noon, at a small celebration of the work done, held at the Derby-Hall Bandstand, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto was there to accept some applause as event chair John Specce announced that the town will give the hamlet 30 new trash receptacles, that placed strategically should help clean up the village on a daily basis. Additionally, Senator Marcellino has applied for a New York State grant to help provide continuous upkeep of the hamlet.

The OBCSC's goal is to implement solutions for litter issues in the downtown area and to improve the appearance and cleanliness of the business district. The target area at this time is the commercial street north of Irving Place, including West Main Street and Audrey Avenue to Maxwell Avenue, and East Main Street to Florence Avenue.

Town Councilwoman Elizabeth Faughnan said from the bandstand, that she had just come from an 8 a.m. cleanup in Locust Valley. She said there, a woman saw a man coming out of a bank, take a piece of paper out of his pocket and drop it on the ground, although there was a waste receptacle four feet away. A woman nearby picked up the paper, said to the man, "You seem to have dropped this," and placed it into the litter basket.

The little scene demonstrated that having a clean town depends on local residents doing their part too.

- DFK