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Good neighbor

Carl Swanson’s walks help keep the community free of litter

Carl Swanson of Warren picks up some litter along Conewango Avenue on Wednesday. Swanson has been cleaning up the neighborhood every week or so for 10 years.

Ten years into his retirement, Carl Swanson is staying active.

He walks every day.

He golfs.

And, he is doing quite a bit more than his share to keep his community clean.

On Wednesday, Swanson was taking his usual walk along Conewango Avenue. Along the course of about two miles, he filled up about half a plastic grocery bag with garbage. That’s less than normal.

“I’ve been doing this for years,” he said. “I walk every day. I live up the street and I don’t want to look at it up and down the street.”

Most days, his walk is just a walk. Wednesday’s was the first walk in a week when Swanson had to bring along his trash picker. “I pick up whenever it gets bad,” Swanson said.

Cleaning adds about 10 minutes to his outing. And weather doesn’t matter. He will be out in the winter.

He gets to meet and greet neighbors and passers-by.

He even makes friends with local dogs. Swanson carries dog treats and is generous in giving them out.

Over the years, his round-trip has gotten shorter. On Wednesday, his walk went from the city limits to Fifth Avenue.

He used to cross the bridge and had some agreements along the way with people who didn’t mind him adding small bags of garbage to their cans or dumpsters.

He even made trips to Pennsylvania Avenue at times. “I used to go down to Burger King when it was along the creek,” he said.

He would spend time there cleaning up the creek bank usually filling up two large garbage bags, he said.

The neighborhood looks better after Swanson takes one of his walks, but he admits he doesn’t pick up every bit of garbage. Asked about cigarette butts, he said, “I would never finish.”

On Wednesday, Swanson had some candy wrappers, cigarette packages, crushed cans, lids and straws from fast food drinks, disposable hearing protection, rubber gloves, and what looked like home insulation.

“You find all kinds of junk,” Swanson said. “It’s unbelievable what people will do.”

He found a $10 bill once and tried to return it to its owner. Figuring the odds were good the money was dropped by a student on the way to school, he asked if anyone at Beaty-Warren Middle School had reported losing it. No one claimed it.

Sometimes his walks turn into scouting trips. A few times along the way on Wednesday, Swanson pointed out garbage that had been in the same place on someone’s property for most of a week. He reached out past the curb to snag a can that he had seen from the other side of the street.

The grabbing tool is a relatively new development, only about two years. “I used to do this by hand,” Swanson said. That took longer and was harder on his body.

He just wants the neighborhood to look better. “I don’t mind it at all,” he said.

Swanson doesn’t mind doing the work, but he would rather not have to, and does not appreciate those who contribute to the neighborhood needing cleaning.

He doesn’t remember seeing anyone actively littering, but if he notices, he said he will be looking to let police know.

The current fines for first-time littering offenses in Pennsylvania range from $50 to $300. Proposed legislation would increase those fines. “I’d love it,” Swanson said.

Even if a new law eliminates the need for him to clean up after litterbugs, Swanson will still be out and about.

“This was just something to do after I retired,” he said. “I can’t stand to just sit around.”

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