The 2021 Morse Waterways Association Lake Cleanup was a success, once again, but could have been better if we would have had more watercraft and more volunteers. When we arrived in the morning and due to the lake being up approximately 1 foot, there were logs just floating down the lake in front of us. But with limited boats, we were still able to collect the majority of these logs. A big thanks to the volunteers that did show up.
The group was provided a location in Red Bridge Park where the large debris could be removed, courtesy of Jimmie Hunter and the Cicero Parks Department. This allowed the collection of large logs along the lake for several days before the event for removal on Cleanup Day. The actual removal of the logs was accomplished by Shannon Fiddler, an employee of the Cicero Street Department, using a Town contributed excavator, made possible by Terry Cooper. The loader began pulling logs from the lake at 8:00 AM and worked without stop until approximately 12:15PM. The longest log was 50 ft long with about a 20 in diameter base. Special thanks to Terry Cooper and Shannon Fiddler for his contribution again this year.
Meanwhile, our ground crew was directed by Dean Denhart and Pat Kelleher. Normally they would work the areas around the Park, the Town Docks and the Boathouse docks. But, due to the lack of volunteers this year these efforts had to be cut short and only one trailer of debris was collected. The week after the cleanup included a couple days of work by the Town of Cicero employees with the excavator and dump trucks to remove the debris from Red Bridge Park. This Cleanup would not be possible without the contributions of location, personnel and equipment by the Town of Cicero.
The volunteers collected enough logs to fill 9 dump trucks that were sent to GreenCycle in Noblesville for recycling, approximately 12 dock floats that were sent to the Republic transfer station and 4 dock floats that were repurposed by a local church. A trailer of small debris was also taken to be recycled.
The Morse Waterways Lake Cleanup is an annual event. Next year’s Cleanup will be held on the third Saturday of July, (Saturday, July 16), from 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM at Red Bridge Park. As you can see, the success of the Cleanup is determined by the number of volunteers on land and in the water along with the volunteers in the boats. Jet skis, pontoon boats, runabouts and ski boats are all welcome.
If you would like to be included in the Cleanup notification list, send an e-mail to Art Hall or Dave Vanette at arthall870@aol.com , or vanetteda@hotmail.com , or just go on our website at morseh2o.com and get on our email list. This way you will receive notification of all news and schedules pertaining to the Cleanup. We at Morse Waterways Association look forward to working with all who would like to participate in keeping our lake clean and safe. Thanks again to all 2021 volunteers for a successful Cleanup.
Morse Waterways Lake Clean Up 2021 Summary
