Miami Student

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Community

A sign along U.S. Route 27 advertises College Corner Spring Clean-Up Week, occuring about seven miles from Oxford, during the week of April 14-21.

Although it may be chilly outside, spring cleaning is about to kick off for most of Ohio - including the town of College Corner, located about seven miles northeast of Oxford.

The organization that is leading this community-wide effort is called the We Care About College Corner Committee, led by Chairperson Jane Thurmer. According to Thurmer, the committee was started about a year ago by residents in response to concerns about falling property values, and the fact that elderly residents were losing money on their home investments.

"The committee is here to make sure that College Corner remains a wonderful place to live for many generations," Thurmer said. "We want to reach out and let people know we care."

The committee will be holding their cleanup, which is a weeklong effort to beautify the town, April 14-21. Events during the week include trash collection, debris removal, and landscaping and maintenance projects. According to Thurmer, this will be accomplished by the resident volunteers of College Corner.

Thurmer said the cleanup is a community-building effort. In fall 2006, committee members went door-to-door in College Corner and asked citizens if they would be willing to support a town-wide cleanup. They also asked if the residents had anything that they might need done around the house, such as various indoor cleaning projects, but the committee at the time lacked the necessary resources to accomplish this.

"This could be anything from cleaning out a garage to clearing brush," Thrumer said. "It's based on people helping people."

Students from College Corner Union Elementary School will also take an active role in the affair.

Maureen McDonough, principal of College Corner Union Elementary School, said many students are involved.

"The school is not sponsoring the event but many students will take a secondary role, participating in activities such as planting flowers or doing photo essays on some of the beautiful places in College Corner," McDonough said.

McDonough also said the student council will be coordinating groups of students wishing to lend a hand to the cause.

"The students are volunteering to help," McDonough said. "It's really great to see young citizens wanting to help the community."

McDonough stated that family members will be working with the students from the school in trash collection. College Corner's residents will assist in cleaning up trash using pickup trucks and front loaders. Residents will be cleaning up the uptown area as well, sweeping sidewalks and painting buildings.

Thurmer said the cleanup is a community-wide effort and everyone who lives in College Corner will benefit from a trash-free environment and an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.

"The real reward is that this project will keep property values from falling and build a stronger community," Thurmer said.

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