Saugus begins spring cleaning

SAUGUS – Complaints regarding littering should be put to rest as community service workers have fanned out across the community to put a dent in the town’s trash troubles.Since the snow melted Public Works Supervisor Joseph Attubato said he has fielded numerous phone calls regarding trash and debris littering areas of town. Attubato said he has been attacking the problem by using the Essex County community program that puts non-violent offenders charged with community service hours to work in various communities.”They’ve been doing a good job,” Attubato said. “They cleaned up Forest Street across from the Oaklandvale School and Thomas Street straight out to Route 1 and they did a great job.”Attubato said he gets the crews one day per week but is hoping to bump it up to two days. Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said Attubato uses his own men for clean ups on the off days but budget cuts have left him with fewer men to handle what he calls a very big job.”We’re getting to it as fast as we can,” Bisignani said. “There are not a lot of people to handle it and we’re getting Essex County people only one day a week.”Attubato said Tuesday crews attacked Eastern and Altamount avenues. Other areas he has pegged for clean up include the upper parking lot at the high school, Main Street from the former VFW down to Forest Avenue and Main Street to the Wakefield town line plus the vacant property next to the Police Station.”We’ll do Walnut Street to Wakefield plus we’ll even do the islands on Route 1 north and south if we can,” he said. “I know they’re not ours but if we wait for the state to do it it’ll be winter again.”Attubato said he is grateful for the help from the Essex County project or it’s likely it would be winter again before the town got to it as well.