Crews go after river trash

About 10 volunteers from the Lebanon, N.H. area tackled clean up work at the Connecticut River from Hoyt’s Landing in Springfield on Friday morning.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150926/NEWS02/709269982

Photo by Len Emery Hypertherm employee volunteers Shawn Kendall left, and Paul Follensbee bring a bag of trash ashore at Hoyt's Landing in Springfield as the Source to Sea Connecticut River cleanup crew members from Hypertherm sets out to remove trash from the shores of the river. Published September 26, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Crews go after river trash By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer Volunteers from four New England states turned out Friday — and will continue today — to do their part cleaning the riverbanks of the Connecticut River from the northern wilds of New Hampshire down to the Connecticut shore. About 10 volunteers from Hypertherm, a company based in Lebanon, N.H., tackled the Connecticut River from Hoyt’s Landing in Springfield on Friday morning, fanning out in donated kayaks along the silty banks of the river, which was low for this time of year because of a prolonged dry spell. The volunteer Source to the Sea Cleanup was organized by the Connecticut River Watershed Council, with the hope of lessening the unsightly and at times dangerous trash adding to the trash burden accumulating in the world’s oceans. Matt McElreavy, a lead operator at Hypertherm, said he wanted to get involved, and fellow employees joined in. John Frink, 26, of Hartland, said he just wanted to help to keep the river clean. McElreavy, who lives in Claremont, N.H., and crew picked up about six donated kayaks from North Star Canoe Rentals in Cornish, N.H., then headed down to Hoyt’s Landing, a popular boat landing at the convergence of the Connecticut with the Black River. Matt Hall of Springfield was fishing Friday morning and was coming in with his canoe and a bag of large-mouthed bass. He said he fishes the area three or four times a week, and he’s impressed with how clean it is. But despite Hall’s observations, the Hypertherm crews quickly located and brought in tires and large pieces of scrap metal they found along the riverbanks, particularly on the New Hampshire side. Cleaning crews from the river’s source — in northern New Hampshire — down to Long Island Sound in Connecticut, will be collecting trash and debris Friday and today. The kayakers were being backed up by a large bass boat, which McElreavy said could lift heavier things if the volunteers found them. “If they find a television, we need a way to get it out,” he said. The crew hoped to scour the riverbanks between three to four miles north of the Cheshire Bridge, which connects Springfield to Charlestown, N.H. The temperature was still less than 60 degrees when the volunteers hit the river, but overcast skies brightened as the day went on. The river was calm and the only ripples came from rising fish. Other crews from Hypertherm and other area businesses or organizations tackled the river farther north, including another group from Hypertherm that was working to clean up Sumner’s Falls in Hartland. Other groups from King Arthur Flour Co., and Ibex Outdoor Clothing tackled different areas along the river. Today, the Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance will be working along the West River, and in particular the Dummerston Covered Bridge area. Large numbers of cleanup crews are registered in Massachusetts and Connecticut, said Ron Rhodes of Pomfret, the North Country river steward for the watershed council.