Dear Action Line: What am I supposed to do with all this unemployment money I’m getting but cannot spend because all the businesses are closed? – Cash hoarder
Dear Hoarder: Do what Little Action Line, now 20 years old, did. Buy a chocolate Labrador puppy. Name him Goose. Then send really cute videos to your parents of Goose chasing a stick. Goose running through the grass. Goose playing tug-of-war with his chewy toy. Goose sleeping. That should take up a good chunk of your money, and time. But don’t call it Goose. That name is taken.
Dear Action Line: Despite the recent positive puff piece in the Herald, not everyone is a fan of spring cleanup. I, for one, don’t appreciate that the prettiest time of year is marred by piles of (stuff) that people put out weeks before pickup. Nor do I appreciate dodging broken glass or worrying that my dog’s eye will be impaled by a rogue nail. Now that the crews have mercifully removed most of the detritus (nevermind that they gouge the streets with their front-loader), who will be by to pick up the remaining jetsam and flotsam? (See attached photo of disemboweled laser printer.) – Wish the City Would Just Put Out Some Roll-offs.
Dear Roll-off: The Durango muckety-mucks really need to include an “Action Line Question of the Year” category at the next Chamber of Commerce awards, because yours was just absolutely the best – the perfect mix of frustration, only one profanity and the underlying possibility of dog impalement.
Levi Lloyd, director of operations for the city of Durango, said only specific items can be picked up by the city, and the list does not include laser printers.
“Electronics are a big no-no,” he said. “The city of Durango Recycling Center takes electronics for a small fee and will be resuming these operations in the next few weeks.”
Laser printers aside, the flotsam and jetsam you see remaining is either because the stuff was put out after the city crews went by, or they are items the city doesn’t pick up, like rocks, concrete, stumps and tires.
Roll-off containers are those big 20-yard containers that have wheels and are dropped off by a big truck, like this:
Lloyd said they are not used because they fill quickly “and get abused by folks that are not paying the monthly charge for the cleanup effort.”
It would also take a lot of roll-off containers to do the job, he said. “We would have to drop 150 or more throughout the city,” he said.
If anything is left behind, the city notifies residents in the area that the junk left behind must be picked up. Residents who missed the cleanup can schedule a dump truck to pick up their unwanted items by calling 375-4850.
“At $90, that is a bargain,” he said.
Dear Action Line: Is it legally or socially acceptable to “alley dive” before pickups during city cleanups? What is the etiquette if you encounter the homeowner and you are swiping stuff? – Feeling trashy
Dear Trashy: Please see question No. 2, above. There is a disemboweled laser printer waiting for you to pick up.
Levi Lloyd, trash guru from above, said help yourself.
“It has always been acceptable and encouraged to alley dive the spring cleanup piles. “Reuse” is one of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. One man’s trash is another’s treasure, the list of clichés goes on and on,” he said.
“As for etiquette, I think a smile and wave is always a good start to any conversation.”
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
