Let's Clean Up

Saratoga’s downtown can be a beautiful location as locals and visitors alike shop and eat among historic buildings under the backdrop of gorgeous mountain vistas.

We say “can be” as there are times when littering detracts from that beauty. A prime example is the morning of June 21. We at the Saratoga Sun noticed a few beer cans thrown into the sewer drain and a lovely floral arrangement in front of Bridge Street Bargains destroyed. That morning, we grabbed a trash bag, dust pan and push broom and not only cleaned up this mess but walked along East Bridge Avenue and picked up other debris and trash laying around. During that walk, we came across tissues, cigarette butts and empty water bottles.

It is impossible to know if the culprit, or culprits, behind the beer cans and destroyed floral arrangement were locals or tourists. Either way, it’s discouraging to come downtown and be greeted with something like this.

If it was locals, we would hope they would have a little more community pride than to litter their hometown. If it was tourists, we’d hope that they’d show more respect to the place they are visiting as it is still someone’s home.

We know downtown businesses work hard to keep their storefronts clean, presentable and welcoming. The Saratoga Sun does the same with our storefront and it is frustrating when there are those who seem to disregard that hard work.

We are committed to leading by example. Going forward, we will spend our Monday and Friday mornings going along East Bridge Avenue to clean up our wonderful downtown. We encourage other businesses and individuals to join us.

Let’s work together in doing our part to keep Saratoga a beautiful destination. The editor and publisher promises not to sing the “Clean Up” song from Barney.