Record Turnout for Eatontown Cleanup

A record 126 volunteers turned out Sunday for the annual Eatontown Cleanup sponsored by the Pride in Eatontown committee.  Everything from paper and plastic to truck tires and concrete chunks was removed from borough parkland and roadsides.

Natalie Johnson, an Eatontown teenager, won one of two prizes for  “most unusual, funniest or grossest find.”  She uncovered a complete deer skull on Route 35 near Industrial Way West. Michael Morano, a Monmouth Regional football player also won a prize for finding a large unidentified bone near West St.  The prizes were vouchers for free pizza donated by Guido’s of Eatontown.

An enthusiastic group of 25 Monmouth Regional High School football players led by coach Jason Morrell  tackled heavy duty debris tossed over time near Wampum Lake.  Ed Dlugosz, chair of the borough’s environmental commission and Sara Breslow, commission member, guided the operation around the lake.  The team even unearthed the foundation of a building, creating a mystery for borough historians.

Helga Schuette, PIE member, coordinated volunteers from the borough business community.  Representatives of Lube It All, the Sheraton Eatontown, DCH Kay Honda, Bank of America, and CDS all pitched in to clean Industrial Way and nearby sections of route 35.

Monmouth Regional cheerleaders with coach Meredith McGee, and members of the borough Youth Committee, led by councilwoman Janice Kroposky removed litter from 80 Acres Park.

The Eatontown GOP cleaned up the roadside along White Ridge Cemetery and the Eatontown Democratic Club removed trash at Husky Brook Park and nearby grassy areas.

Members of the Mingo Jack Memorial committee cleaned Locust Grove cemetery, burial site of the victim of New Jersey’s last lynching.

An energetic group from Grace United Methodist Church cleaned up a littered area of Wyckoff Road.

Volunteers from the Eatontown Historical Museum cleaned the area on Broad St. adjoining the museum and weeded and replanted the museum’s gardens.

Dozens of local residents pulled litter out of wooded areas and the perimeter of Wolcott Park.

Police Chief Michael Goldfarb pitched in to remove litter while also checking on the safety of the volunteers.  He had three squad cars on hand to assist volunteers. Borough Administrator George Jackson and Keith Ferrugia, supervisor of parks in the Department of Public works were on hand with several borough employees, picking up the bagged trash and making the borough bus available when needed.