To the Editor:

We hear a lot of talk about “taking pride in Wareham.” Well, apparently, no one is listening. This town has become a dumping ground for trash of all sorts, be it in the downtown area (where I happen to own a business), or along our less than desirable roads. Despite the efforts of some well-intentioned citizens, this problem continues to exist and seems to be getting worse as the weather gets better!

One recent Saturday, the tenant who operates the business adjacent to mine worked diligently to clean around our building. He spent  quite a bit of time picking up trash, removing sand and dirt, and generally improving the appearance of the area.

The following day, less than 12 hours after all of his hard work, the front of the building looked like a trash receptacle! Scratch tickets, cigarette butts, fast-food wrappers, etc. were visible from my front window. At one point I noticed a woman bending over to pick up something off the ground and was ready to thank her. Much to my chagrin, she was only checking to see if the discarded tickets were winners! No other items were picked up, and the tickets were tossed back on the sidewalk.

Her action and the constant littering that goes on in this town have prompted me to write this letter. To top this all off, upon arriving at work just days after my neighbor's clean-up efforts, I discovered a Styrofoam container of chicken-wing bones on my front entrance. My neighbor’s efforts, like those of others trying to keep this town clean, went for naught..

In closing, please keep in mind how this subject adversely affects our community. Make concerted efforts to keep this place litter free. Whether it's throwing a cigarette butt out of your window, tossing something in the street, or dumping debris behind an abandoned building, there is no place for these things in such a beautiful town as ours. Our understaffed and overburdened Municipal Maintenance Department can only do so much. The rest is up to us.

With much concern,

Harry Irving        

Wareham