Cleaning up

In his baseball book "Ball Four," former pitcher Jim Bouton tells an anecdote concerning a complaint he made to the Yankee clubhouse man about the lack of choices in the refreshment bin.

"Pete, how come you're always out of orange juice?" Bouton asked.

"If I get it, you guys just drink it up," Pete answered.

Like orange juice, Cape Girardeau's spring cleanup program is just too good.

In recent years, the city has hauled away nearly 1,000 tons of its residents' trash for free during the five-day run, roughly 10 times more trash than the city normally collects during a week. The cost of the program in terms of additional landfill fees, overtime, hiring part-time workers and advertising adds up to about $52,000 a year. The extra landfill fees account for the biggest part.

To cut costs, the city has decided to terminate the popular program as part of a plan to trim the next budget by $158,000 and to raise another $61,800 through fee increases. The city needs to cut costs. But its residents also want to live in a clean city.

Some time ago, Cape Girardeau did away with weekend hours at its landfille transfer station. But Tim Gramling, the city's director of public works, says the cost-benefit ratio didn't justify staying open on weekends.

The transfer station now is open from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays only. Those hours are not conducive to serving most working people.

To save an additional $15,000, the city also has cut out the free you-haul week held in the fall.

The city will continue to make special pickups of trash for a fee, and the recycling center will remain open on weekends for drop-offs from April through October. But we hope the city is thinking about offering alternatives to those who have relied on the spring cleanup program for so many years.

Councilwoman Evelyn Boardman has suggested, without much support from other members of the council, that the city should consider reinstating the spring cleanup program once its finances improve.

Whether or not that happens, we suggest bringing back weekend hours and providing a free day at the transfer station a few times a year.