a small collection fee is required for ‘white metal’ items like refrigerators, washers and dryers. Other items should be bundled in manageable sized bags or containers. Bulk trash is collected during one week every month on the regular trash collection day. 

With a dozen set of skilled hands supplemented by part time and seasonal help, Mr. Palmore is quick to give credit where credit is due - “…all in all, I’m proud of the way the guys in this department handle the ‘job at hand’ no matter what it is or what the circumstances.” 

Community News

The effects of landscaping and lawn care practices on stormwater are overwhelming. Lawns produce significant amounts of nutrient-rich stormwater runoff, and research shows that such runoff can cause significant damage to streams, lakes, and estuaries. Research also suggests that suburban lawns produce more surface runoff than previously thought, and the average person has no idea what an impact they have on local water supplies. If you ask the average person what is the biggest source of waterway pollutants, they point to industry. Regulations to those industries, including agriculture, however, have greatly reduced the pollution problems they have caused. As a result, residential runoff is now becoming a leading source of pollution. Pesticide and nitrate fertilizer runoff can contaminate drinking water supplies with chemicals toxic to both humans and aquatic organisms. But generally speaking, homeowners are not knowledgeable about the effects fertilizing the 40 million acres of suburban lawns they maintain has on water supplies and aquatic life.

If classified as a crop, lawns would rank as the fifth largest in the country on the basis of area after corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. Fertilizers applied to these lawns are roughly equivalent to the application rates for farm row crops. Lawns receive an estimated five to seven pounds of pesticides per acre annually and that really adds up to big water quality problems. Despite this, few residents

consider lawn fertilizer as a cause of water quality problems. Additionally, few suburban landowners are aware of their lawn's nutrient needs.

Only 10 to 20 percent of lawn owners nationwide take soil tests to determine if fertilization is even needed. Most lawn owners don't know the phosphorus or nitrogen content of the fertilizer they apply or that mulching grass clippings into lawns can reduce or even eliminate the need to fertilize. Most don’t know that Fall, when grass can better use nutrients, is the best time to apply lawn fertilizer. If intelligent lawn care practices were used, a major source of stormwater pollution and water quality problems in residential communities would be mitigated.

Don’t get it wrong, we all love our greener-than-green lawns, but a little intelligent ‘look-see’ at ‘best practices’ can’t hurt and may even improve your lawn. First, with regards to fertilizers, all fertilizer packages have three numbers on them (example: 10-10-10, 16-4-8). The numbers represent the percentages of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) – in that order – by weight. This is also referred to as the N-P-K ratio. So, 16-4-8 fertilizer is 16 percent nitrogen, 4 percent phosphorus and 8 percent potassium. While all three are necessary for proper growth, many soils have enough of certain nutrients. A soil test will help you understand which nutrients your lawn lacks. The best fertilizer for your lawn has a slowly available nitrogen source. “Slow-release” nitrogen sources are usually stated on the label, possibly as WIN or water-insoluble nitrogen, sulfur-coated urea, natural organic nitrogen.

Second, timing is not everything, but it is important. The timing of your application of fertilizer depends primarily on the type of grass you have, and the lawn’s desired appearance, color, density, and uniformity. Summer is best for warm-season grasses, like Bermuda grass and zoysia grass. September – November is best for cool-season grasses like Tall Fescue, Rye or Bluegrass. If you don’t know what