Skip to main content

Oh, and One More Thing...

Before I shuffle off from the scene of the Oakland Mills Board in my rumpled raincoat, there's one last piece of news I want to share with the hocosphere. It's about why trash is trash, poop is poop, and why good customer service will put you at the top of the heap.

On Thursday April 18, mac and I participated in the 20 minute Howard County Cleanup.  We walked to the top of Timesweep with a trash bag and gloves, and cleaned up the entrance area into the new Blandair Park. There is no official waste receptacle near this pedestrian entrance, and it was beginning to look a bit "trashy."
We were dismayed to discover that quite a few folks had been bringing their dogs up into the park to relieve themselves.  mac was both disgusted and indignant.  She's waited her entire life for this park--how could people do this?

When we went home I posted about our experience on Twitter, and was advised by fellow blogger Wendi to address my Tweet to @LiveGreenHoward.  Here is what followed.

April 19th:
@LiveGreenHoward 20 minute clean up accomplished! mac and mom, top of Timesweep at Blandair. Rec &Parks--need signs "Pick up after dog"!
April 23rd:
@macsmom Thanks so much for making a difference in 20 minutes! I'll pass along your note to Rec&Parks too.
@LiveGreenHoward Thanks! We want our new #BlandairPark to be beautiful forever! #hoco #ColumbiaMD
April 24th:
@macsmom Blandair Park Mgr has been notified and the pet waste stations will be up asap. Thanks for letting us know!
@LiveGreenHoward You are the coolest! Thank you so much. I'll def. be doing more 20min. Cleanups in your honor!

The first thing you will notice is that the conversation is punctuated by quite a few exclamation points.  You can get pretty excited about cleaning up in Howard County.  And Tweeters can be an enthusiastic bunch.  But the overall message is clear--the folks at LiveGreenHoward are at the top of their game. They listen, they are paying attention, and they are making connections to solve problems. Whoever is keeping an eye on that account took responsibility instead of making excuses.

Wow--do you think they might consider running for the school board?

hocoblogs@@@

Comments

  1. WendiApril 26, 2012 at 4:25 PM

    Julia - I shared this with my friend, Elissa, who works for Live Green Howard - I think she shares Twitter duty with someone else, though, so I'm not sure that it was her who followed through. But Elissa is awesome - she's the PTA parent in charge of our Green School initiative at Veterans.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julia A. McCreadyApril 26, 2012 at 5:08 PM

    Wendi--without you I wouldn't have known to make this connection. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more