May is Spring Clean Up month in Thompson, and Mayor Tim Johnston, along with public works director Wayne Koversky, made a kick-off announcement at the Thompson Chamber of Commerce on April 25.

The clean up is vital for the city’s appearance, as the spring season is not always the best time to view the streets, as they are often covered in debris and sand from the previous winter.

“This year we laid down a record amount of sand over the winter in order to keep the streets safe,” said Johnston, “that always creates an issue in the spring in terms of you have to go and pick that up.”

Council strongly supports the spring clean up initiative, so much so that they had a public area tenant out picking up garbage a few weeks early when Thompson saw some mild weather.

Johnston commended the work done by Oswald Sawh and initiatives such as garbage enclosures and waste pick up for the city seeing less and less garbage in the streets come spring.

The clean up is something that Johnston says the whole community must buy in to in order to improve the city’s appearance.

“I hope that residents don’t just depend on the city of Thompson to get out and clean up during the spring,” said Johnston, “one of the things that irritates me the most is when I see people littering in Thompson, nothing to me says less about a sense of community pride than when people don’t want to be part of the solution.”

The sweeping program starts May 1 on the main arteries such as Thompson Drive, Cree Road, Selkirk and Station Road.

“We’re going to be putting out public notices for when we’ll be in what area,” said Koversky, “so we’re encouraging residents to look after their front yards so that when the sweepers come by we can gather the excess material from the sand.”

On May 11 there will be a business challenge, for local businesses to get out and clean up as much as possible.

Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be the date of the clean community project, where those residents who register at Robin’s Donuts will be provided gloves, bags and water and will receive $3 per bag of waste gathered.

The City of Thompson will also be offering $3 per bag throughout the entire month of May.

“We look forward to any families and any individuals who want to get out and clean up certain areas of the city,” said Koversky, “we have a map already set up and we’re ready for any groups that would like to come in and get an allocation of so many bags. We’re allowing 23 bags and two recycling bins, so anything that’s recyclable we want to encourage you to use those.”

The compost site will be open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the drop off of leaves and grass clippings. The public works yard will be taking e-waste drop off as well from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May 7 to Oct 29 for any old and unwanted electronics.

Rounding out the announcement and pre-launch was Sawh presenting a certificate to Troy Anand from Robin’s Donuts with a Thompson Spirit certificate for his work and dedication to the city. Robin’s will celebrate their 10th year in business in Thompson in November.

“ One thing about Troy, and it’s not just about the Spring Clean Up, but Troy and Robin’s (Donuts) have supported a number of different events,” said Sawh, “They support Operation Red Nose, as well as something that’s near and dear to me and that’s the Thompson Humane Society. This award recognizes Troy his spirit and for leading the way in making Thompson a better place to live work and play.”