Matthews: Grateful to Lewis, city personnel for cleanup

As a homeowner in the Stoney Creek development, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dover City Councilman Brian E. Lewis of the 2nd District, city manager Sharon Duca and all the city staff who took a whole day Oct. 18 to clean up the trash and debris along the access road and in the retention pond of our development. All the trash was illegally dumped and has been lingering for almost two years, causing foul odors, land disfigurement and a decrease in property values. Some of the uncontained trash was rotten food, broken furniture, tires, mattresses, medical waste and abandoned vehicles, which were towed or issued summonses by the police. When I walked around my development, I was in complete disbelief by the amount of trash that I saw. The cleanliness of our neighborhoods is a major factor in maintaining a comfortable quality of life. Illegal dumping is an important issue to tackle, especially when it can attract rodents and other pests that carry diseases.

I believe all neighborhoods in the city of Dover deserve to have clean and safe areas.

I applaud the effort to improve the quality of life with this recent cleanup initiative. Something like this is critical to our city’s public health and recovery, and I am encouraged to see that the councilman and city staff were committed to improving our community, which speak volumes.

Again, thank you for making this effort a success.

Valarie Matthews

Dover

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