• To invest $500,000 on expansion of neighborhood safety

City of Columbus Mayor, Andrew J. Ginther, coordinating with City Council and the City Attorney, has announced new plans to address illegal dumping throughout the City.

Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy

The plans build on enforcement efforts that have already caught illegal dumpers in the act, as well as helped the Columbus Division of Fire catch a dangerous arsonist.

According to the Columbus, Ohio Mayor, “to build stronger, safer neighborhoods, we are working with residents in our opportunity neighborhoods to address a key quality of life issue – illegal dumping.

“By dedicating resources to prevention, enforcement and education, we will be able to cut down on crime and revitalize communities,” he said.

To compliment prevention efforts, Public Service and Public Safety will invest $500,000 to expand neighborhood safety cameras into select alleys on a permanent basis. This expansion will benefit efforts to reduce violent crime and nuisance crime like illegal dumping, prostitution and drugs.

Also Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy said, “Illegal dumping continues to be a growing concern in neighborhoods throughout our City.

“Columbus residents take great pride in their communities, and I look forward to working with them to clean up our streets and hold those engaging in this activity accountable,” he added.

As part of the Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy, the new plans will use mapping of 311 complaints to find illegal dumping hot spots. Based on this information, the Neighborhood Crisis Response and Nuisance Abatement Group will coordinate multi-departmental responses to illegal dumping, such as lighting assessments, conversion of 300 gallon to 90 gallon containers, and assessing other nuisance issues to address.

Additional ground crews and new equipment will assist in alley cleanups at these locations.

The Division of Refuse Collection will increase to 50 the number of trail cameras that are used by the Solid Waste Inspectors to covertly record areas that are prone to illegal dumping.

Columbus Police will provide light duty officers to assist in the identification and investigation of illegal dumping recorded on cameras.

Other highlights of the new policies include:

90-gallon trash cans to replace 300-gallon receptacles in alleys that are magnets for illegal dumping, as well as changing to front service where appropriate

Hot spot mapping through 311 to identify hot spot locations of illegal dumping

Prioritize 311 reports of illegal dumping in hot spot areas

Solid Waste Inspectors and Code Enforcement Officers to make sure nuisance materials on private property are properly disposed by a private hauler

Regular reports to neighborhood leaders regarding illegal dumping cases, as well as publicize illegal dumping convictions

Keep Columbus Beautiful End Littering Initiative to address littering in a sustainable and coordinated way by focusing on key stakeholders with specific litter reduction programs

Annual Cleanup Day in cooperation with neighborhood organizations, businesses, faith groups and City departments.

Continue to work with Franklin County Courts to assign community service hours to clean up alleys.

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Africa Community of St. Justin holds annual summer picnic

The Africa Community of St. Justin, Houston, Texas will hold its annual summer picnic on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at the Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Park on 4025 Eldridge Parkway, Houston.

The President of the Africa Community of St. Justin, Sir Okey Okafor said “the picnic will start at 10am and end at 6pm,”adding that “it is family style and there will be lots of food, games and prizes to be won.”