Nunda Township’s Contract with Waste Hauler Has Leaf Vaccuuming

Ah, the good ol’ days.

Right after Earth Day in 1970, the Illinois General Assembly passed and Governor Richard Ogilvie signed a bill to ban open burning.

Lakewood residents had always burned their leaves.

It was so bad that vision on Lake Avenue was probably less than 100 feet at times.

But, with the new ban, the Village Board contracted with Veuglar Disposal to suck up leaves raked to the side of streets with a giant vacuum.

There was quite a negative reaction to the new law and it was drastically modified.

Leaf burning returned to Lakewood (and elsewhere).

Then Lakewood Village President Julie Richardson convinced a majority of her Village Board to ban leaf burning.

(I continue to thank Richardson for allowing our bedroom windows to be open on fall nights.)

The Village Board, however, then forced everyone to put leaves in bags.

Those who know where we live (the house on Lake Avenue with the Gate 11 sign in the front yard), realise it is on a slight rise.

The only hill in old Lakewood.

As far as flooding goes, it is a marvelous location.

Our basement was dry this summer.

However, with the area’s southwesterly winds, there is a disadvantage.

Just as water flows downhill, leaves are blown by the wind.

And they stop at our little hill.

Other people’s leaves.

This area was pretty well rid of leaves the day before I took the photo above.

Oak leaves blew down the street and got stopped along our part of Lake Avenue.

A friend loaned us a little truck (about half the size of a dump truck) and we filled it twice.

Now I learn from Nunda Township’s fall/winter newsletter that, under the deal that Supervisor Lee Jennings cut with Waste Management, each side of Route 31 gets three chances to rake leaves to side of the road for vacuuming.

No bags.

Naturally, I have proposed this idea to Lakewood Village Trustees, but, so far they continue the bagging requirement.

People hate that so much, that many pay outrageously amounts to have other people come and rake their yards.

Some have speculated the lack of concern interest over vacuuming leaves springs from the fact that most Village Board members live in Turnberry, where there are not many leaves.

For Turnberry residents who want leaves, I offer them free.

I still have a spring pass to make to get rid of the leaves that blew in after all of the ones you see above were removed.

I have been told that Woodstock sucks up residents’ leaves, too.


Comments

Nunda Township’s Contract with Waste Hauler Has Leaf Vaccuuming — 6 Comments

  1. Wonder Lake has leaf pickup via the contract with Groot.

    They come once in the spring and twice in the fall.

    This fall they came by with the vacuum on a Monday in November.

    The second pass was that following Friday.

    Needless to say, there are still leaves in ditches and on the roads because there were still leaves on the trees in November because of the warm weather.

  2. Thanks Kelly and Cal.

    I was beginning to think the leaves I swore I raked, were reappearing in a cruel hoax played by neighborhood kids.

    Guess I’ll save all these lumps of coal for next summer’s barbecuing.

    Off to the Walmart to scrape up some made-in-Chinas to pass along as holiday cheer.

    Merry Indian Christmas 🎄

  3. So, Lakewood has to hire the Masters of the Universe to get a vacuum truck?

  4. If you can’t come out to vacuum up the leaves on roberts rd at least let us know so we can burn them before we go through all the WORK of racking

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