Chaplin Cleanup Day
April 19, 2014 (Saturday)
We live in a wonderful town, that's filled with the natural beauty of forests, fields, rivers, streams, ponds and wildlife—as well as historic buildings and cemeteries. All too often, many of us forget just how interesting and beautiful our town is, and don't do all that we can to help preserve that beauty. If you're like me, you feel disgusted when you're walking or driving down a road in our town and see trash littering the sides of the road, or in our cemeteries, Diana's Pool, or other public spaces. Here's a chance to do something about it!
The Chaplin Conservation Commission sponsors an annual Chaplin Cleanup Day, which takes place on the 3rd Saturday of April each year, which is the first Saturday after income tax returns are due. This is usually just the right time of year. It is late enough that the weather is usually tolerably warm, the spring thaw mud is drying, and all the greenery is just on the verge of popping out. It is also just early enough that the foliage isn't quite out yet, including poison ivy leaves. And it's the same week as Earth Day. We receive funding for food and refreshments from The Last Green Valley.
The goal is to have as many individuals, households, and organizations as possible each agree to clean up a section of road or other public area (like Diana's Pool, a cemetery, etc.) within Chaplin. We hope that you will participate, and encourage your friends and neighbors to participate, to help renew this sense of pride and make our town an even better place to live.
Here's how it works:
- Look at the list of cleanup commitments below, and choose an area not yet taken that you or your family/household/organization are willing to take responsibility for cleaning.
- Email a note to cleanup@chaplinct.org with the following:
- - Your Name(s)
- - The area you'll be cleaning up (if part of a road, give intersections or house numbers of ends)
- - How many people plan on attending the after-cleanup lunch.
- On or before April 19th, perform the cleanup. Plastic trash bags and gloves will be available during the month of April at the Chaplin Town Hall if you need them. If you come across anything on roads or public land that's too large for you to manage, please let us know, and we'll ask the town to deal with it, if that's appropriate. For the weekend of April 19th, a town dump truck will be parked at the Town Hall parking lot, into which you can deposit trash from the cleanup (please do NOT bring any personal trash).
- After the cleanup, send any comments, reports, or photos that you want to share about what you found to cleanup@chaplinct.org. These will be published on this cleanup web page. There is also a Trash Tracker Form (download as MS Word or PDF) that The Last Green Valley would like participants to fill out, to give them a better idea of what sorts of trash are common. It would be helpful if you could fill out this form and either email it to cleanup@chaplinct.org (preferred) or drop it off at the After Cleanup Lunch at Garrison Park.
After Cleanup Lunch 1:00pm - 2:30pm Garrison Park
For everyone who participated in the cleanup, we will be gathering at Garrison Park for an after-cleanup lunch. Food and drink will be provided (probably pizza, soda and coffee), and additional potluck contributions are welcome (but not required). Please let us know if you are planning on attending, so we'll know how much food to purchase.
2014 Chaplin Cleanup Commitments (View Map)
| Area | Responsible Party |
| Bedlam Rd. Cemetery | Chris Komuves, Alycia Sanders |
| Bedlam Rd. from Cemetery to #100 | Chris Komuves, Alycia Sanders |
| Bedlam Rd. from #100 to Route 198 | Paul & Sue Peifer |
| Chaplin Center Cemetary | Johanne & Bill Philbrick |
| Chaplin St., from Palmer Rd. to Tower Hill Rd. | Deb Field |
| Chaplin St., from Tower Hill Rd. to Rt. 198 | Johanne & Bill Philbrick |
| Chewink Rd. | Matt Cunningham & Family |
| Diana's Pool | Boy Scouts Troop 440 |
| England Rd., from Rt. 198 to Natchaug River | Johanne & Bill Philbrick |
| England Rd., from Eden Retreat Center to S. Bear Hill Rd. | Juan Sanchez |
| Federal Rd. | Bill Rose |
| Marcy Rd. | Ann Lewis & Davie Raczkowski |
| Miller Rd. from Rt. 6 to Mountain Laurel Ln. | Marian Hanyckyj |
| Morey Rd., from Marcy Rd. to Hampton Town Line | Ann Lewis & Davie Raczkowski |
| Natchaug St. | Barry & Laurie Howard |
| Nollett Rd. | Jennifer Roberts & Family |
| North Bear Hill Rd., from Rt. 198 to Natchaug River. | Carl Lindquist |
| North Bear Hill Rd., from Natchaug River to Singleton Rd. | John Meyer |
| North Bedlam Rd., from Davis Rd. to #90 | Bob & Pat Dubos |
| Palmer Rd., From North Bedlam Rd. to Ridge Rd. | John Smith & Family |
| Palmer Rd., From Ridge Rd. to Chaplin St. | Deb Field |
| Parish Hill Rd. | Parish Hill Students |
| Ridge Rd., from Palmer Rd. to Rt. 198 | Scott Matthies |
| Ridge Rd., from Tower Hill Rd. to Palmer Rd. | Deb Field |
| Rt.198, from Chaplin Museum to Ridge Rd. | Scott Matthies |
| Singleton Rd., from N. Bear Hill Rd.to Nutmeg Ln. | Phil Rusch |
| Singleton Rd., from Nutmeg Ln. to Marcy Rd. | John Meyer |
| South Bear Hill Rd., from S. Cemetary Rd. to Cross Rd. | Janet Stone |
| South Cemetary Rd. | Janet Stone |
| Tower Hill Rd., from Bujac Rd. to Bolduc Ln. | Warren Church |
| Tower Hill Rd., from Bolduc Ln. to Federal Rd. | Kitty LeShay |
| Tower Hill Rd., from Davis Rd. to Ridge Rd. | Carl Lindquist |
| Tower Hill Rd., from Federal Rd. to Davis Rd. | Kathi Williamson |
| Tower Hill Rd., from Ridge Rd. to Chaplin St. | Deb Field |
2014 Cleanup Photos
There will also be a Natchaug River Cleanup Day later in the year, date TBD.
You can also post any questions or comments to the Chaplin Town Forum (email to chaplin-forum@googlegroups.com or signup below), that you would like to share with other people in the town. For any general questions or comments, please contact Chris Komuves at cleanup@chaplinct.org or (860) 455-9839 [cell]. You can also view information on previous cleanup days.