Keep Iowa Beautiful Month!

Spring Cleaning!

As spring approaches and we move toward April we start thinking less of the winter and more of about warm weather activities like housecleaning, planning trips, looking over seed catalogues, cleaning up the yard and garden, planting and home improvement plans.  Private residents and the business community use this time to “spruce up” their properties.  April is a great time for thinking about a more beautiful home, business, community and state.

Governor Terry E. Branstad recognizes the beauty of this State as evidenced by the fact that his family home is in a forested river valley.  His commitment to the beauty and attractiveness of Iowa tends to reflect the same dedication and pride that Iowan’s have in the places where they live and in their State. 

Keeping Iowa Beautiful doesn’t happen automatically – it takes time and effort.  There is a job for everyone, from the school student to the retiree, in helping to clean up areas, fix up properties and to plant up areas in need of a touch of natural beauty.  Schools that have active service learning programs can help by placing a focus on programs that enhance the attractiveness of the community.  Not only will the hours spent by the youth bring benefits to the community, the service they provide will bring immeasurable value to the student by building a sense of pride and accomplishment in helping to be a part of their community, i.e. ownership!

The cleanliness and beauty of Iowa is critical for attracting business and potential investors that are ready to grow the economic base.  It is also vital for visitors to consider a trip to Iowa and for former residents to consider returning.  Clean and attractive landscapes support the pride that we have in where we live and protect and enhance the natural beauty of the State.  For these reasons and more, the Governor will be declaring April as Keep Iowa Beautiful month.

We encourage every Iowan, group, organization and business to join with us in celebrating April as Keep Iowa Beautiful Month.  Share with Keep Iowa Beautiful your neighborhood, community or public area improvement plans scheduled during April and the remainder of the year.  Encourage your mayor, city council or the County Board of Supervisors to develop proclamations proclaiming April as Keep (Your City / County) Beautiful Month.  Check out the Keep Iowa Beautiful web page (www.keepiowabeautiful.com) to learn about programs and other activities being planned for April.

Keep Iowa Beautiful will help to recognize and promote your efforts.  Make no small plans!!!  Let’s make Iowa the cleanest and most beautiful State.

                 Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Martha McCormick – Keep Iowa Beautiful Education Consultant

April – 2012

 Community Service vs. Service Learning

On March 27^th Governor Terry E. Branstad signed a proclamation designating April as Keep Iowa Beautiful Month. This not only recognizes the organization, but encourages and supports Iowans’ efforts to make the places we live cleaner and more attractive, building a sense of pride!  Keep Iowa Beautiful encourages cities and counties to adopt similar resolutions and join in the spirit of the movement to enhance and improve our countryside, communities and state.

Service learning is a critical ingredient of that effort.  Many schools in Iowa require high school students to complete a certain number of hours of service before graduation –often ranging from 50 to 100 hours.  In other schools service is a voluntary program. A few schools award “Silver Cords” to students who complete a minimum number of hours. They wear a silver cord as part of their graduation cap and gown. 

Many of us have worked to involve younger generations in doing clean up, paint up or fix up projects. The danger in these events is that we often treat young people as “cheap labor.”   Such an attitude results in community service rather than true service-learning programs.  As a lead organization for community enhancement in Iowa, Keep Iowa Beautiful challenges schools and other partners to transform their community service projects to the more meaningful concept of service-learning. To accomplish this, we must help young people to:

         ·      Become involved in projects from the very beginning, investigating community issues, and planning projects to address them.

·      Make connections and relationships with academic studies, increasing the relevance of school and the service provided.

·      Understand the value of service through structured reflection, thereby gaining a greater appreciation and a sense of ownership.

Crucial to the process of involving youth as true partners in the community, is developing adult leaders that:

·      Perceive young people as valued partners in the process of community enhancement.

·      Serve as models of respect for people and the environment.

·      Take time to talk with youth about the value to the community of their involvement and work.

·      Involve the youth in evaluation and value analysis.

By implementing the nationally recognized service-learning model, community enhancement projects bring personal understanding to those involved and a great sense of pride and ownership in the community.

According to a recent survey, service-learning is underutilized in Iowa. Keep Iowa Beautiful is working state-wide with schools and community organizations to:

·      Build character and a sense of community ownership.  An effective service learning program in the school can have a unique positive impact on the school, the community and the student.

·      Research the needs of service-learning practitioners for training and support.

·      Make connections and strengthen networks.

·      Provide resources through grants and mini-grants.

·      Make the connection between academics and service through Clean and Green, a program for Kindergarten through 5^th Graders, available for free at KeepIowaBeautiful.com.

Young people are more likely to be engaged in their schools and communities whenthey are involved in service-learning throughout their schooling. Youth who are actively involved in service-learning are more likely to stay or return to that community later in life. Could Iowa make a better investment in our youth? We at Keep Iowa Beautiful don’t think so!

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

February – 2012

Get The Lead Out!

Lead out of your “glass” – that is!

That phrase normally refers to actions asking us to – hurry up, get going, move a little faster, speed up, etc.  It generally refers to the speed with which we are doing something or that some activity that is not going fast enough.

In today’s age of technology it takes on a new meaning and refers to the high lead content on the glass of electronic instruments, TV screens, monitors and other items.  The following describes the impact of lead on our lives when it is in the wrong place.  To help get an understanding of the impacts of lead, the following is from Wikipedia:

“Lead, at certain exposure levels, is a poisonous substance to animals as well as for human beings. It damages the nervous system and causes brain disorders. Excessive lead also causes blood disorders in mammals. Like the element mercury, another heavy metal, lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates both in soft tissues and the bones. Lead poisoning has been documented from ancient Rome, ancient Greece, and ancient China.”

 Like the issue of “lead paint” and the subsequent impacts that it has had – particularly on children, the issue of lead in the glass TV screens and monitor tubes can have a significant impact on our health and the environment.  Proper disposal of the glass, TV screens and computer monitors (CRT’s) is critical.

 CRT’s and TV glass is contains large quantities of lead, along with other toxic materials such as antimony trioxide (a flame retardant), barium, cadmium, nickel and zinc.  Much of this heavy metal content is in the form of a coating on the inside surface of the glass tubes.  When the tubes are broken, these metals are released in flakes and dust, contaminating everything around them and affecting our health and the environment.

 A number or recent incidents indicate that some individuals, in a haste to obtain other metals in the electronic units will break the glass tubes.  Then they dispose of the broken glass in inappropriate manner, even in recycling containers, thereby releasing contamination from the lead and other metals in a dust – creating both health and environmental dangers.  Disposal in any manner that is not an established and approved manner represents “illegal dumping”.  In that context it is a clear violation of the law. 

 Iowan’s have a responsibility to everyone to properly dispose of items.  Electronic item recycling is easy to deal with – simply contact your local landfill office, the local DNR representative or your local County Conservation office.  It is our collective responsibility to make sure we don’t take electronic units to people or companies that are not properly disposing of or recycling the electronic units.  There is no excuse for not disposing of them properly.

 Help everyone out and keep our environment and our personal health safe.

 As we move toward April as Keep Iowa Beautiful month, please let us know your plans for helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful during the month and the rest of the year.

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

December – 2011

The Greatest Gift!

Iowans are blessed with two of the greatest gifts that could ever be given – the gift of bountiful and rich natural resources that provide a dynamic social and economic vitality.  The second gift is a special set of citizens that respect and enjoy that bounty and the livelihood and cultural value it provides.  On occasion there are signs of disregard or disrespect for the place where we live.

Yes, there are times when we can improve our behavior.  The important part is to make sure that we continue to appreciate what we have been given to care for – not only for us but for those yet to come - the future generations.  In today’s “green” terms it is called “sustainability” in biblical terms it is called “stewardship”.

Stewardship reflects the sense of civility in caring for and supporting those around us – our friends, neighbors, relatives and those we don’t even know but have special needs.  Stewardship of the land means caring for it in such a manner that it will continue to produce the products we need and depend on, the outdoor values and natural beauty important to our lives and the water that we use and consume.

Iowans understand that taking a short term gain by destroying the resource is not an option.  Maintaining and managing the resource to continue to produce for the long run is the valued option be it land, energy, water or air.  Most Iowan’s know when their actions are destroying or consuming the resource in such a manner that it doesn’t give future Iowan’s the opportunities we have had.

Littering may not initially appear to be important, however, it reflects not only a disregard for the environment and the resources but also indicate a lack of concern for the other citizens that appreciate and take pride in a clean and attractive Iowa.  It also is a precursor to the potential disregard of other elements of common courtesy and the law i.e. jaywalking, public nuisances, water pollution, illegal dumping, etc.  If we can break one law and get away with it, why not break another law and another law.  Soon that type of behavior becomes a pattern of action.  It reflects a lack of civility and disrespect.

Let’s make sure that all Iowans treat our gift of Iowa with the greatest respect and a keen sense of stewardship – leaving a State which future generations can be proud of.  Make your resolution for the New Year to improve our State and Keep Iowa Beautiful.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

November – 2011

Change – Good or Bad!

Most of us are resistant to change.  We become comfortable with a “status quo” life style.  As my wife says – “I want a calm pond with no ripples”.  Even though we generally have that attitude, changes still come!  On special situations, when we do want change, we tend to want it quickly and become impatient if it isn’t accomplished instantly. 

Making changes in our behavior patterns is a challenge.  Those behaviors that are negative to maintaining a clean and attractive landscape and place come both quickly and slowly.  Most of us want a society without litter and clean and attractive settings.  One of the changes that seems to have come quickly is a negative one - the attitude that streets and roadways and both public and private property are places to get rid of items we don’t want so we feel that we have the right to through it away so it becomes litter and debris. 

This change seems to have come within a relatively short time frame.  Four or five decades ago, the idea of throwing something out of a car window was virtually unheard of.  Today it seems to have become commonplace.  In fact the cost of clean ups and picking up after ourselves in Iowa is estimated to be nearly $30 million per year.  Just think where those dollars could be used instead of cleaning up our litter and debris.

Forty or fifty years may seem like a long time but over the time span of being in Iowa, it is a pretty short time span.  Can we make the change back to being a clean and tidy state and reduce the tremendous cost to society in a shorter period of time?  Keep Iowa Beautiful has been at it for over a decade and I keep thinking we are making progress, but then I go out for a drive and question whether we have.

All of us and in particular the up and coming younger generation in particular, need to develop a behavior pattern that does not include the thought or practice of littering.  It may seem to be a trivial or small issue, but when you total it up the cost is staggering.  In many cases it can also lead to other negative behaviors.  If I can throw something out and litter and not get caught – then maybe there are other laws I can break.  Pretty soon the “small” laws become bigger and more significant, leading to a society without rules or with a great deal of gray or lack of clarity to society.  It is the rule of paying attention to detail and following all of the laws – not just the ones that suit us.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

Iowa’s Roadsides – Places of beauty?

During the Iowa State Fair a number of people stopped by the Keep Iowa Beautiful booth in the Varied Industries Building expressing displeasure and frustration at the condition of Iowa’s roadsides.  Namely they were commenting regarding the efforts they (as adjacent property owners) have been putting in to roadside enhancement and beautification near their homes.  Many have put in considerable time and effort and take great pride in the plant species and floral displays throughout the summer and fall.  A key part of the beauty of our State originates with the roadsides and the native flowing vegetation.  

The frustration in working with roadsides starts when the public roadside manager decides that mowing these areas may be in the best interest of the agency.  This action often destroys the work of the landowner and the potential natural beauty and wildlife habitat of the roadside.  The roadside managers objective for a “manicured” road side often range from decreasing winter snow drifting to enhanced visual ability of drivers – in other words safety issues.

On the other side of the equation are the property owners that are mowing large areas of roadside with the same objective of creating a clean and beautiful setting.  This dichotomy can be best captured by the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” - natural plantings versus a neat and tidy mowed setting.  We all have different opinions of what is attractive.  In some instances mowing is initiated due to the presence of an invasive weed species i.e. Canada Thistle.  Mowing can reduce the problem without the use of chemicals.

Both the adjacent landowner and the roadside manager have perfectly legitimate objectives whatever the situation.  The problem occurs when each other’s objectives aren’t known about ahead of time, not balanced and / or infringe on one another’s objectives.  These real conflicts can often be resolved through consideration of one another by communication, open discussion and pre-planning so that the conflicts don’t occur or are greatly reduced.  This is called roadside vegetative management.

Protection of the “beautiful roadside botanical gardens” while assuring safety and low maintenance costs should be mutually achieved to meet the objectives of the landowner and volunteer and the organization or governmental unit through careful discussion and planning.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

September – 2011

Helping Keep Our Countryside Beautiful!

Those Iowan’s that are fortunate to live in the rural countryside of our State know what they have in the natural beauty, attractiveness and cleanliness of their homesteads, residences and surrounding land.  Many of these Iowan’s take the extra effort to show the pride in the place that they own and live.  As we travel the roadways of rural Iowa the natural beauty of the countryside is enhanced by the many attractive farm sites and residences.  All of us appreciate the extra work that rural residents put into their homes and property.  That effort also results in providing an attractive pastoral and pleasant image to visitors – a sign that Iowan’s care.

There are however, some instances in which we need to encourage and support the improvement of properties.  There are a few blemishes on the landscape.  These tend to be the properties that are abandoned or that do not have someone living on them.  In other instances the properties may be rented out and the renter does not share in the desire to maintain a place of pride.  In some instances the properties have abandoned wells that need to be properly capped to prevent environmental problems to the ground water.  Many have unpainted buildings or structures in need of repair.  In other instances the properties contain a value in terms of potential recyclable materials like steel, iron and wood.  Some instances reflect properties that appear to be illegal dump sites and public nuisance areas.

Several of the properties may contain historic or architecturally unique structures that need to be evaluated for the potential for preservation or at a minimum careful documentation before deconstruction of the structure.

In any event – we need to support those that are doing the “right” thing by maintaining clean and attractive properties.  We need to help those that are not quite as enthusiastic about improvements to the land and property that they own.  Let’s consider ways to thank the jewels that sparkle across the countryside and take the tarnish off those properties that don’t enhance our rural landscape beauty.  We can set an example for the nation.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

“It Just Makes Sense”

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful

And 

Jan Wilson –PICA Coordinator – Fort Dodge

June - 2011

It Takes a Village of Volunteers to Make a Community!

The title focuses on an analogy to the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child”.  This analogy is equally appropriate, as it takes many volunteers to keep a community clean and attractive.  Most communities have limited resources for maintaining public grounds and rely heavily on volunteers.  The volunteers are indeed special people, who have a sense of community pride and the respect for other people.  These volunteers are also actively involved on councils, committees, church groups, service clubs, and helping with many of the community events.  A community with low volunteer involvement tends to be a community without vitality. 

There can be no better example of this concept than Fort Dodge, Iowa.  They have a unique  group of dedicated volunteers, mostly senior, but several youth during the summer months.   This group is called “Pride In Community Appearance” or PICA.  This group begins meeting each year around April 22 (Earth Day).    They meet Tuesday and Thursday mornings each week for two (2) hours – one hour of work and one hour of social time. There are 60-80 volunteers in total, with each session averaging about 24 volunteers.  The volunteers are active throughout the community, weeding, cleaning, painting, landscaping and planting.  This year will be their TENTH year.  Their success is evident by simply making a visit to Fort Dodge – judge for yourself.

Just imagine the dollar value of what they have done over the ten year period.  They have put in 14,167 hours of volunteer time valued at $20 / hour represents a value of $283,340.  Now count in the donated dollars, supplies and services, estimated at $30,000.  Lastly, value the improvements made to the community – estimated at several thousand dollars.  In total the contribution of PICA over the ten years is between $250,000 and half a million dollars.  What an amazing contribution to community enhancement.

The formula for their success can be defined by two words – PRIDE and RESPECT.  There is more to the story, however, and here are the rules that have guided the program.

• • Be aggressive and positive.  They don’t wait to be asked – they determine what needs to be done and then obtain approval before proceeding.
• • Don’t wait for public funds.  Work for private support and action.  This group is   heavily dependent of donations, not only of dollars, but of in-kind materials, services and partnerships.
• • They have a clear mission mixed with a great social ambience of having fun and enjoyment from “a job well done”.

Challenge your community to form an organization like PICA and see what a difference it can make in your town and its residents – make your community a “village of volunteers”.

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

“It Just Makes Sense”

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

MAY - 2011

“A STRING OF PEARLS”

The song title conjures images of a beautiful piece of jewelry – lustrous pearls that are strung together with a thread of silk.  It also reminds us of the Clarinda native big band era band leader, composer and trombone player - Glenn Miller.  This song made famous by Glenn Miller takes us back over 65 years.  Regardless of age, the song is a beautiful haunting melody yet today, reminding us of the importance of beauty in our lives.

The song reminds me of Iowa’s communities – some of our communities have all the pearls (special community features) connected with clean and attractive neighborhoods, landscaping and streets – the silk thread that brings the pearls together.  That silk thread makes these communities truly special pieces  of jewelry.  For many other Iowa communities the question becomes whether any of the “community pearls” can be seen or if they have lost their luster as a result of the surroundings - blighted neighborhoods, public nuisances, unpainted buildings, facilities not maintained and signs that need improvement.  In this case the strand that brings those pearls together is like barbed wire.  Every piece of beauty is diminished by the negative elements of the community.  It is not a beautiful piece of jewelry – simply a collection of pearls that have lost their beauty.

An analogy would be having a beautifully restored architectural building surrounded by vacant and un-landscaped lots or buildings that are in disrepair.  The value of the restored building is diminished by its surroundings. 

Ideally we would like every community to be a beautiful piece of jewelry i.e. - pearls (what makes your community special) connected by well maintained streets, litter free property, absence of public nuisances, buildings and facilities that look clean and attractive, and attractively landscaped properties.  With these special pieces of jewelry the potential for cultural and economic vitality increases significantly.  It is not the only thing that is needed, however, it is the basis or foundation for building pride and respect with the residents and appealing to similar individuals to reside in the community.  

Without people with vision, communities die – the string of pearls fall apart and scatter on the floor.  Communities exist for the people and it takes the entire community involved in a vision to sustain your efforts.  

“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.” – Abraham Lincoln

These are exciting but challenging times for communities to be stringing together a strand of pearls, starting a new life.  But you can do it!  You are the master jewelers!

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

See you in the next column.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

Turning Derelict Buildings into Community Assets

Almost every community in the State has “derelicts” – buildings! Derelict buildings are

often in various stages of vacancy and / or disrepair from those that are falling down to

those that still can be restored and utilized in the community.

The challenge to all communities is timing - when to recognize that a building is “derelict”

so that active planning can be initiated either for its removal, deconstruction rehabilitation.

This timing generally does not coincide with having the available funds for restoration or

having an alternative use or user for the building.

Under the nuisance abatement process utilized in some communities, such buildings are

addressed only when they are in such a state of disrepair that they are beyond being

rehabilitated or even properly deconstructed. Further, the presence of asbestos in such

buildings, which is typical, makes their deconstruction or demolition inordinately

expensive. Cities may want to consider adopting some form of program or regulation,

wherein the owner of a derelict building would be requested or required to enter into

formal discussions with the city and to take action to address the condition of the building.

In most cases, whichever process is used, a safety, environmental and asbestos evaluation

needs to be made as a first step. Certified inspectors can be found by contacting the Iowa

Department of Natural Resources. Whatever process is used, follow-up and tracking of

action on the buildings in question is critical.

Vacant derelict buildings can be dealt with in several ways:

• Conversion of use to an acceptable use – possibly facilitated by the city and / or

local private investors.

• Deconstruction with a process to save as much of the material as possible and to

recycle it back into other uses.

• Re-construction and re-modeling to upgrade the building to a safe and energy

efficient facility that can be marketed.

• Demolition of the building salvaging what can be salvaged and removing the waste

to the landfill, with the empty site restored and landscaped to become a community

green and open space or for sale as a development site.

Whatever choice is made by the community, any program dealing with derelict buildings

will require community support, often State DNR assistance, financial resources and the

active involvement of the city attorney.

Keep Iowa Beautiful has a grant program (financed through the Iowa DNR Solid Waste

Alternative Program (SWAP) to help communities with fewer than 5,000 residents. There

are two grant opportunities - a beautification grant program providing grants for

communities of 5,000 and smaller for beautification proposals ($5,000 limit) and a derelict

building grant proposals ($15,000 limit).

In 2010 – 143 applications were received for the two programs, however, only 17

communities received grants due to the limited amount of funding available (total of

$80,000). Additional funding from the SWAP funds will be requested of the 2011

legislature. The next deadline for applications for both programs is March 31, 2011.

Application forms and specifications can be found at www.keepiowabeautiful.com under

the “Grants” item.

Every community is encouraged to take an aggressive role regarding buildings that

become vacant and seem to be headed in that direction on a permanent basis. The quicker

that action can be taken by the community to plan for their future, the lower the cost and

associated problems and the higher the potential for conversion.

Buildings that have played a strong role in the community’s heritage may possibly be

saved and converted to another use. At a minimum, the materials in the building may be

saved and used in other buildings helping to recycle rather than taking the material to the

landfill.

Help turn the derelict buildings in your community to places that are attractive and become

community assets.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA 50309

Phone: 515-323-6507

E-mail: gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page: www.keepiowabeautiful.com

December 2010

Communities with Commitment

“Check Your Community Gas Gauge”

A sense of community pride comes from “ownership”.  When citizens resolve their own community problems, the sense of ownership in the community becomes very strong.  They develop a sense of pride in the place that they have had a part in shaping.  That particularly holds true for the student in the local school.  If that student is asked to be involved in shaping the future of the community – not simply as cheap labor in a project, but for active ideas and thoughts in planning the future of the town – that youth will develop a strong sense of ownership, resulting in an equally strong sense of pride.  Later in life the potential to return to that community will be increased three times as a result of the sense of ownership and pride. 

If you travel Iowa, it soon becomes clear which communities want to survive and grow and those that don’t.  Many communities show vitality and signs of community pride and spirit along with significant community improvements.  A number, however, show none of those signs.  They are clearly in a state of decline.  In addition, between those two extremes, there are a large number of Iowa communities that seem to be in a holding pattern with little or no progress.  An analogy would be comparing the situation to the gas gauge in your vehicle.  It ranges from empty to full.  Where is your community?  Is it empty and out of gas or is it filled and ready to go?

Communities that are inspired and motivated need and deserve support from both the public and the private sector in building their future.  Assistance needs to be earned - is not simply a right dispersed equally to everyone!  The history of our country is based on the concept that when there is a problem ,it is up to the local people to help solve that problem without automatically turning to government for the answer.  It is that spark of independent action that motivates and inspires communities.  

The question is how can we stimulate and move a declining community into building that sense of pride and the spirit of hope for the future.  Iowa and the nation’s resources are limited so the use of resources needs to be focused where it can do the most good and have the highest degree of success.

Both young and old citizens need to be encouraged to be actively involved in their community and helping to build community pride.  There are many ways to make that effort, a few examples are:

• • Formation of special citizen committees that have the support of the authorizing governmental entity.  
• • Placement of youth(s) as special advisors on the city council or with the Board of Supervisors can provide new insights for the community and creative ideas that deserve consideration.
• • Recognizing those in the community for their good work and supporting volunteer groups.
• • Establishing art and cultural activities in the community that appeal to a wide range of citizens and that encourages visitors.

Whatever the situation, check to see where your community “gas gauge” is!  Get your community “vitality tank” filled and prepare for action.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

November 2010

Iowa – A State of Beauty

The origin of our State’s name was derived from a native American Sioux word, “Ayuxwa” – in French “Ayoua” and in English “Ioway”.  The Iowa River is really the namesake of our State, however, the word Ioway has taken on another meaning, “a place of beauty”.  Right or wrong – the meaning that we attach reflects our sense of pride in our State.  Early settlement history by Europeans helped to support that idea.  The heritage of those early settlers was one of cleanliness, beauty and a sense of order.  

There are many communities to this day that reflect that European heritage – the towns are clean and attractive and the neighborhoods without debris and public nuisances with well cared for landscapes and painted buildings.  We all know them, as they have become models for other communities and we take pride in them even if we don’t live there.

Beauty in our countryside and landscape ranges from the subtle and pastoral to the spectacular and magnificent.  Iowa has a great deal of the subtle and a number of truly spectacular and magnificent areas.  Standing on the lookout at Pikes Peak State Park or the view from the Loess Hills over the wide Missouri River Valley can rival the view of the Grand Canyon or the beauty of the Alps.  Not that one is better than the other – just that they are different and have special qualities and an image that makes them special in our minds.  That beauty serves to provide pleasure and great memories, stimulates our minds and provides a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction – PRIDE!  

We tend to give these places a stronger sense of care and concern (or at least we should) because of that beauty and the natural character of those places.  Symbolic of that concept are the scenic byways that are spread throughout the State.  

It is the less spectacular and more subtle areas of beauty that we need to gain a stronger appreciation for.  They may not offer the spectacular vistas and views with great beauty.  We often treat the pastoral rolling hills and valleys and the flatter farmland with less respect or regard.  We tend to downplay the subtle beauty of those areas thinking that we don’t need to treat them with the same regard and respect as the more spectacular.  The natural beauty of our rivers winding their way through the rich soils of the former prairies and the attractive images provided by the rolling forested landscapes are truly worth careful consideration and our respect.

We can gain a greater appreciation of these areas by slowing down and learning to look closer.  Other ways to slow down are by hiking the trail systems, canoeing the rivers, bicycling the roadways or traveling the “gray roads” (as identified on the State Highway map) at lower speeds.  These methods of travel will help to achieve a much greater appreciation of the subtle beauty of Iowa and the surprises it holds.  The subtle beauty can become the spectacular as we gain a better understanding of our land and water legacy.

P.S.  When the fall colors are at their best, much of our landscape views are at their best.  Take the time to slow down and enjoy all of Iowa’s roadways, but, particularly the scenic byways (local, state and national).  Check the Iowa Highway map for locations.  Add this goal to your “bucket list”.

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

October 2010

Tailgating With Respect 

No one can argue about the fun and enjoyment of social activities before and after athletic events.  It is a great way to have fun, enjoy great food and refreshments, meet people, reflect on the game and gain support for your particular school.  The issue becomes one of how we conduct ourselves during those events – with respect and dignity or with disregard and rudeness.  Do we leave the area clean and picked up or littered and filled with debris.

As you walk among the groups you can easily tell the quality of the people by how they keep their tailgating area.  Those that are clean and well kept have a sense of pride and respect and conduct themselves with a sense of civility.  Those that don’t care for their tailgating area often reflect rudeness and a lack of courtesy or respect (much less adding significantly to the high cost of clean-up and event management).

Like anything else in society, a small minority can cause problems and encourage reactions that affect the majority resulting in an increase in laws, rules and constraints.  I’m sure that the majority of the tailgating fans conduct themselves in a respectful and pleasant manner.  However, it is apparent from the recent actions in Iowa City that the laws need to be brought into action to curtail the lack of civility resulting from some of the tailgating sites.

It is unfortunate that we need to keep adding laws or controls.  It seems to reflect a society that can no longer treat property and one another with respect.  Fun is one thing that most everyone can tolerate and enjoy, but the disregard for others should not be tolerated.

So what is the answer – more laws, rules and enforcement officers can have an impact on prevention, however, the real solution is the development of a society that has a high regard for the land, property and others.  That type of training and guidance at one time was managed and doled out by parents.  Now with both parents working, the guide for social behavior seems to fall on the day care facilities and the schools.  The schools are fast becoming the parents for a number of our youth.  That statement is not made to cast a negative image of every youth and family in this State.  There are a number of great families and youth that understand and emulate the qualities of civility and respect.  The problem is the growing number of individuals in which those words “respect and civility” seem to be absent.

There is no single “Silver Bullet” to solve the problem as there are many facets and elements.  One thing is clear - we need to support programs like the service learning efforts in schools that link students with their community through service to the community and Character Counts programs that build civility and pride.  Programs like these have become highly respected and proven to be effective.  Initiating these programs early in life helps to implant a behavior that we can all appreciate and is beneficial to society.  If we learn these principles early in life they will tend to stay with us.  The costs associated with negative and intolerable actions of a minority of the public should not destroy the beauty of our landscape, or the fun and enjoyment for those that care. 

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

• Tying the basic components of academics to real life experiences
• Students becoming a part of the learning process – not the object of learning
• Tying schools to communities
• Building enthusiasm for both learning and community
• Increasing citizenship skills
• Engaging students
• Increasing the educational standings of the school
• Improving critical thinking
• Teaching teamwork and communications
• Providing improvements to the community
• Increasing a sense of ownership in the community
• Increasing student academic performance

This is the kind of investment that Iowa needs to make for its youth. Support and encouragement to schools and colleges to establish formal service learning programs with either an optional choice to enroll in the program or in some cases as a requirement for graduation need to be emphasized. A number of Iowa High Schools have a program entitled a “Silver Braid or Silver Cord Program”. Students commit to 150 to 200 hours of service to the community. On graduation those students voluntary enrolled in the program are allowed to wear the silver cord on their graduation robes. It is a sense of pride and honor for all students who earn silver cords just like the gold honor cords for honor students.

Programs can be initiated earlier in school – even at the K – 2 level through simple efforts like planting a flower or picking up a piece of litter. Efforts like that benefit the community, provide the basic core curriculum needs of civic responsibility and by giving the youth a sense of being a part of the community with a great feeling of pride.

Giving back to the community and country through “service learning” is a basic opportunity that we need to make sure all citizens experience. Help “plant the seed” in our youth today by asking your school or college if they have a service learning program for students.

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a significant reminder that we apparently have a short
term or casual perspective toward our natural world. In this situation not only is the
natural world assaulted - in addition the culture of a region is devastated.

Recently while at church - the minister focused on the issue of the Gulf oil spill. The
congregation sang "This is my Father's World" written in 1901 by Maltbie D. Babcock.
Both the sermon and the song left a significant impression with me. It strengthened
feelings and personal convictions. It reinforced a simple but important rule from my
father. My job was to always return the tools that father had borrowed from the
neighbors. His rule was simple "Return them in better condition than received" and
that was my job. The song at church was appropriate to this concept as the first
verse indicates:

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas: his hand the wonders wrought.

"This is my Father's World" truly reflects the idea that the world and its beauty is ours
to consider with reverence passing it on to future generations so that our economy and
the natural systems can be maintained to benefit those that will inherit what we leave.

The heavy responsibility of stewardship is passed on to each generation. The temptation
for short term gain through the mining of our soils and natural resources needs to be put
in the context of use of the natural world on a sustainable basis. It is like making a
financial investment that pays a dividend in perpetuity. In many cases we are tapping into
the principal or asset so that it becomes depleted and after a period of time not only is
the income depleted so is the asset.

Can we truly pass the world on to our children, grandchildren and their children in "better
condition than we received it? That is our challenge.

The song "It is our Father's World" implies that the resources of the world are owned in
common. As the "Father" - society has the responsibility for the harvesting of those
resources on a judicious and carefully measured basis. In athletic terms - are we passing
the baton on to the next generation so that we feel a deep sense of pride or will we drop the
baton and loose the race?

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

July 2010

“One Picnic Table Equals 32,000 Plastic Shopping Bags!”

Yes, the equation does work!  Those bags that you often see blowing in the wind or caught in the fence or tree or taking up space in your storage area can be transformed into useful products that help beautify the places that we enjoy.  Simply take them to your local grocery store for recycling into outdoor furniture.

Studies show that as a consumer you feel strongly about the use of plastic shopping bags – in many different ways.  Some of you feel that they are essential, some like them for the secondary uses such as waste basket liners, picking up animal waste litter, etc.  Many of you feel that in order to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags along with reducing their potential for being a source of litter we need to increase the use of re-useable bags.  

For both you as a buyer and the store as the supplier, it is also a matter of economics – for the store it is costly to purchase plastic bags (paper as well as plastic).  For you as a consumer (if the store didn’t need to purchase the bags) your cost of products might be reduced accordingly.  In Iowa it is estimated that we use over 555 million plastic bags per year.

Working in partnership with the Iowa Grocery Industry Association (IGIA) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) - Keep Iowa Beautiful led an effort to learn more about how you feel about the reduction in the use of both plastic and paper bags, increasing the recycling rate of bags and increasing the use of re-usable bags.  The resulting program that was developed with IGIA is called “Build With Bags” and can be accessed on the IGIA web site – www.iowagrocers.com.

The program is working and the increased level of plastic bag recycling is producing products for use in the outdoor’s:  picnic tables, benches, planters, waste and recycling receptacles, plastic lumber, etc.  Plastic Recycling of Iowa Falls (www.plasticrecycling.us) is one of the key companies producing those products.  It takes 18,000 plastic bags to make a park bench and 32,000 to make a picnic table.  IGIA has a grant program available for schools and parks of grants of up to $2,000 for the purchase of outdoor furniture made from recycled plastic bags.  Applications and details regarding the Build-With-Bags grant program can be found at www.iowagrocers.com/build-with-bags-program.cfm

For all of us the success of the program will reduce the impact on environment, reduce our cost for products at the store and change our behavior pattern into remembering to bring the reusable bag(s) every time we go shopping.  The next step will be to encourage other retail stores to join the program in reducing plastic bag use.

The conversion of the plastic bags into outdoor furniture is a great way to “close the loop” and show that products can be recycled into positive items.  This is a concept that we all want to achieve and support.  REMEMBER – TAKE YOUR REUSEABLE BAG TO THE STORE THE NEXT TIME YOU GO SHOPPING.

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

June 2010

There is Great Beauty in the Gray Roads of Iowa!

For many, road trips are an exciting part of our lives and may even be considered the last great adventure.  For the past 15 years I have been involved in very special road trips – touring the Midwest with vintage and classic automobiles.  Take my advice and consider getting off the interstates and main highways and take shorter, more frequent trips on the “Gray Roads” – roadways marked on the official State Highway map in gray color as county surfaced roads.  They are less traveled, offer unique sites, experiences, and some special communities, as well as the often unseen beauty of Iowa.  

The idea for the vintage vehicle tours was formed during Iowa’s 150^th anniversary (the sesquicentennial).  Claude Jones, a Presbyterian minister, visited with me about establishing some kind of car tour event.  I suggested tying it to the Sesquicentennial and involving a symbolic 150 vintage vehicles to tour our beautiful state for seven days – traveling 150 miles per day.  John Swanson, a marketing expert from Cedar Rapids, joined the cause and MotorMemories, Inc. was born (www.motormemories.org).  With a wave of the checkered flag by then Governor Robert D. Ray we were on the road.  The tour came off exactly as planned – highly successful for the participants and the visited communities.  

Tour themes were taken from Iowa native Meredith Wilson’s Music Man – “You Gotta Know the Territory.”  This supposed one-time event has become one of the largest traveling museums in the world and continues today.

Tours have covered Iowa from corner to corner:  Kenora, Ontario, Canada to Venice, Louisiana along the Great River Road and every state adjacent to Iowa.  We have had as many as 215 vehicles (that would stretch over 16 miles on the highway) and as few as 35. 

The experience is unique in many ways:

• • First – the minute you step into your vintage car the years roll away and you go back to that age in your life.  It is amazing how you can shed the years and recall the multitude of memories.  The minute the engine starts you are a younger person.
• • Secondly – you travel with the idea of not simply getting from one place to another but in enjoying the journey and what you see along the way.  You tend to travel slower and look at the countryside closer.  As they say – “you can take the time to stop and smell the roses (Iowa’s state flower – the wild rose).”  You look for the beauty in the landscape and detest the ugliness when it shows up in the form or litter or a community that does not care.
• • Thirdly – in the case of our tours you travel not simply to step back in time but to share the experience with other kindred souls.  Traveling together with others that own vintage vehicles allows you to share the experiences of the past as well as the challenges of today’s travel.  The experience becomes like a traveling community.  You soon build friendships that last forever.  You share memories not only with fellow travelers but with those spectators that come to see and enjoy a piece of American history – your vintage vehicle.  Like the fishing tale, the stories get bigger and better with time.

Almost all of the participants in these tours have a special connection to our history and our culture.  They are proud and respectful of their home communities and this great and beautiful State.  They view their surroundings and take in how other people care for the places where they live.

Even if you don’t own a vintage vehicle you can slow down, get off the main roads, travel the “gray roads” and appreciate the small communities and the surprises they hold.  Enjoy the journey – not simply the destination.  Experience the great people of our State and its beauty – close up and personal.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

by 

Janis Ruan – Des Moines

May – 2010

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.  This became clear to me when Douglas Hoerr of Hoerr/Schaudt Landscape Architects of Chicago visited Des Moines in 2001.  Hoerr, who is responsible for the transformation of Michigan Avenue’s “Magnificent Mile” in Chicago, was invited by Des Moines Founders Garden Club to present a Garden Talk on “Streetscapes”. Never having visited our State Capitol previously, he was immediately impressed by the city and excited by the possibility of creating an aesthetic “wow factor” that would extend from the Des Moines Airport to the downtown area.  Specifically, Hoerr envisioned Fleur Drive becoming a beautiful corridor between two prominent parks, Waterworks Park and Gray’s Lake, to welcome and inspire visitors to the city.

After delivering the “Streetscapes” presentation to a large audience of public figures, city employees, garden enthusiasts and community activists, the movement for a public/private partnership and streetscape beautification project began to take shape.  A Mayor’s Landscape Task Force was created to develop a plan which included the creation of landscape guidelines for use by architects throughout the Des Moines area.

Streetscape beautification efforts were then developed and implemented within four distinct locations.  A parking lot was selected to screen and enhance (one of fifty in Downtown Des Moines), Egyptian Planters with seasonal plantings (four plantings per year) were placed around the perimeter of the Ruan Center and Downtown Des Moines Marriott Hotel, and the landscaping surrounding City Hall was enhanced.  These few improvements bolstered community pride and facilitated perceptions that Des Moines, Iowa was alive and well.  At a later time, with the support of Des Moines Waterworks, funds were privately raised to create the medians on Fleur Drive.  For this project the objective was to create a sense of arrival.  Featuring dramatic seasonal plantings and perennials, the medians greatly improved the physical appearance of the main artery to downtown Des Moines.

It was nine years ago when the beautification vision was first formalized and it has subsequently spread citywide.  Streetscape beautification has become contagious.  The Des Moines East Village saw a tremendous rebirth; Ingersoll  Avenue is beginning Phase II of its restoration with public and private funding.  There is a momentum of renewed enthusiasm for our city and the streetscape projects are spreading beyond the downtown area to the neighborhoods.  These improvements increase real estate value, minimize littering and restore a sense of pride in residents.  A collective appreciation for beautiful landscapes and green space emerges as they promote public gatherings and a sense of community.

Streetscapes with wider sidewalks, street furniture, landscaping, attractive lighting and other amenities all may make a neighborhood or urban setting more pedestrian friendly.

The importance of community-wide curb appeal to attract visitors requires continuing the revitalization and promoting the positive effects.  Streetscapes can have a significant effect on how people perceive and interact with their community.  If streetscapes are safe and inviting to pedestrians, people are more likely to walk which can help reduce automobile traffic.  It is a proven fact that Streetscape beautification along with traffic calming also cuts down on crime.  More attractive and cleaner streetscapes achieved through public/private partnerships can only enhance economic benefits to local merchants,  and  generate  pride for the residents of the community.

Projects in cities large and small can make a difference.  Landscaping and beautification efforts can range from simply cleaning up an area by pulling weeds, mowing grass and establishing trees, gardens and flowerbeds with volunteer groups to major improvements to the infrastructure with public/private partnerships.

First,  identify an area that needs a better first impression and decide if clutter needs to be eliminated, unattractive signage should be removed, blacktop needs screening, or whether the space would benefit from the addition of street trees and planters;  then form a committee to implement the project.  Invite local leaders, business people and representatives of civic organizations.  Streetscape beautification is an easy sell and gives great gratification that you have made a difference in your community.  Our goal should be to make our city, town and neighborhood a vibrant and attractive place to live, work and play.

Janis Ruan - Board Member

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com 

This is an alarm clock not just for those that spend their lives concerned for the environment or natural resources. It is a wake-up call for everyone that lives and works in this great State and country.

• Those in business know and recognize the need for a healthy and vibrant environment. Business success and future growth depends on an environment and culture / society filled with a sense of stewardship and long term perspective for the land.
• For our youth it represents the time to learn and understand how they can be stewards concerned with the future or conversely, consumers without regard for the future natural world.
• For retirees, the perspective is one of reflection of how they contributed to a positive future and a healthy world.
• For all other employees and citizens, Earth Day is a day to consider the roles that they play in improving our quality of life and our environment.
The formula for failure for a long term healthy environment, at a minimum, contains these elements:
• A lack of knowledge, understanding or the desire to learn about our environment
• Short term economics (extraordinary high return in short time frames) – lack of a long
term perspective. This is often reflected in personal goals like “what’s in it for me?”
instead of “how can I help our country?”
• The feeling that “I don’t have time” to learn, understand and change my life style.
When the alarm clock goes off on April 22nd, will you take the time to “wake up” by readjusting (or continuing) your life to a commitment for an improved environment? Or, will you continue to push the “doze” button, giving the day a casual commitment of passing interest and moving on with your life as it has been and without change.

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautifu
 

March 2010

“Every Neighborhood is Your Neighborhood”

The neighborhood where we grew up provide a treasure chest of great memories.  That place becomes special to each of us.  Hopefully, we have developed a wonderful sense of pride in that special place along with respect for all of our neighbors.  It was a place of comfort, enjoyment and stability.  Over the decades society has become much more mobile.  Because of this mobility we don’t tend to put our “roots” down as deep and therefore are not as strongly tied to our neighborhood as we once were.  Today, our neighborhoods and the places that we live may change frequently over time.  With that change, the sense of belonging and ownership to the area tends to become less important.

With this increased mobility and frequency of change – every neighborhood needs to be prepared to welcome and accept newcomers.  The challenge is to make them feel welcome and a part of the community along with building a sense of pride.  Neighborhood organizations can and do help in developing that special character and warmth that makes people feel comfortable in that it is truly “their” neighborhood - in fact their home.  Every neighborhood has the potential of becoming your neighborhood.  The challenge of building the sense of neighborhood takes effort – it is not as easy as it once was, however, the benefits are still there for us and important to society.

Every neighborhood in our State needs to recognize that it could be the new home to someone that may know nothing about the area or the community.  Methods of welcoming the newcomer and involving them in the neighborhood association take skill and sensitivity to each individual’s special interests.  The challenge is to develop leadership from within the community that recognizes the values and importance of a strong and vibrant neighborhood.  Along with that leadership is the need to continue to look at other areas and neighborhoods to see strategies and projects that are building pride and respect.

A great place to find ideas and concepts is at the “First Impressions Symposium’s” hosted by Keep Iowa Beautiful.  These one day events bring “neighbors” from around the state to share stories and programs on how to improve their communities and neighborhoods.  This year’s symposium will be held April 16^th (Friday) symposium at the Iowa Farm Bureau Headquarters in West Des Moines.  Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the program at 8:30 a.m.  Community speakers, panel sessions and topics important to communities run throughout the day.  The event adjourns at 4:00 p.m. 

Jay Walljasper, author of “The Great Neighborhood Book” is this year’s keynote speaker.  His presentation is a must for everyone interested in building strong communities.  Awards for outstanding corporation, organization, community and individual, as recognized by Keep Iowa Beautiful will be presented over lunch.  Register by April 2^nd to enjoy the early $40 registration fee (which includes refreshment breaks and the awards luncheon).  

Check our web page (www.keepiowabeautiful.com) for the full agenda and to register.  We look forward to having you join us in learning how to make every neighborhood – your neighborhood.

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

The neighborhood where we grew up provides a treasure chest of great memories.  That place becomes special to each of us.  Hopefully we developed a wonderful sense of pride in that special place along with respect for all of our neighbors.  It was a place of comfort, enjoyment and stability.  Over the decades society has become much more mobile.  We tend not to be as strongly tied to our neighborhood.  Today, our neighborhoods and the places that we live may change frequently.  With that change the sense of belonging and ownership tends to become less important.

With this increased mobility and frequency of change every neighborhood needs to be prepared to welcome and accept newcomers.  The challenge is to make them feel welcome and a part of the community along with building a sense of pride.  Neighborhood organizations can help in developing that special character and warmth that make people feel that it is truly “their” neighborhood and in fact their home.  Every neighborhood has the potential of becoming your neighborhood.  The challenge of building the sense of neighborhood takes effort – it is not as easy as it once was; however, the benefits are still there for us.

Every neighborhood in Iowa needs to recognize that it could be the new home to someone that may know nothing about the area or the community.  Methods of welcoming the newcomer and involving them in the neighborhood association take skill and sensitivity to each individuals’ special interests.  The challenge is to develop leadership from within the community that recognizes the values and importance of a strong neighborhood.  Along with that leadership is the need to continue to look at other areas and neighborhoods to see strategies and projects that are successfully building pride and respect.

A great place to find ideas and concepts is at the annual “First Impressions Symposium” hosted by Keep Iowa Beautiful.  These one-day events bring together “neighbors” from around the state to share stories and programs on how to improve their communities and neighborhoods.  This year’s symposium will be held on Friday, April 16^th at the Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters in West Des Moines.  Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the program at 8:30 a.m.  Community speakers, panel sessions and topics important to communities run throughout the day.  The event adjourns at 4:00 p.m.  

Jay Walljasper, author of “The Great Neighborhood Book,” is this year’s keynote speaker.  His presentation is a must for everyone interested in building strong communities.  Awards for outstanding corporation, organization, community and individual, as recognized by Keep Iowa Beautiful, will be recognized over lunch.  Register by April 2^nd to enjoy the early $40 registration fee (which includes refreshment breaks and awards luncheon).  

Check our web page (www.keepiowabeautiful.com/annualSymposium.html) for the full agenda and to register.  We look forward to having you join us in learning how to make every neighborhood – your neighborhood.

February 2010

Let’s Roll Out the Welcome Mat

(Iowa’s New Front Door)

Visitors to Iowa are currently welcomed at our borders with a large billboard or sign that says something like, “Our Governor Welcomes You to Our State” along with some slogan that many people won’t remember or really care about.  There may or may not be some landscaping around the sign!  A few feet down the road and the sign and slogan are already forgotten.  The landscape of the countryside remains the same along the way.  Nothing indicates that you are in one of the finest states in the nation.  

Without the billboard or sign, you wouldn’t even know you had left one state and entered another.  

Now imagine a new look, a “welcome mat,” for Iowa at our interstate highway entryways.  Instead of a standard billboard, a sculpture or artistic sign that reflects uniqueness and quality commands your attention.   A simple greeting such as, “Welcome to Iowa – the beautiful land” or “Please Enjoy Iowa” is stated.  This entry piece is also tastefully illuminated for nighttime visitors.  The new style entry evokes warmth, comfort and caring. 

In addition, each entry roadway would be carefully and specially landscaped for the next two to three miles.  Each entry would have a natural theme that reflects the resource character of that region – prairie, wetlands, forest, etc.  Public sculptural or art forms are inter-mixed with this unique landscaping and also reflect the cultural theme or history of the region.  These public art works don’t detract from the needs of safe driving, but make the driving experience unique, pleasurable and exciting.  To the traveler it says “I’m in some place that is special.”

For example, if you were entering Iowa from the east on Interstate 80 you might start to see beautiful floral prairies with public art work periodically placed that depicts the migration west with hand carts, covered wagons, on foot and horseback, etc.   Exiting lanes going back east could show similar art work and a message of “We Enjoyed Having You in Iowa.”

The Iowa business community could be invited to sponsor these areas as a way to reduce the cost to government and gain recognition for their company.  

The same concept would be applicable for entry areas on other major highways but on a smaller scale of public art and landscaping.

Let’s put on our creative Iowa hats and develop a process and plan for our entryways that will truly set the tone for a pleasant and memorable visit and experience in our state – a “first impression” of Iowa that is unique and special in the nation.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

December – 2009

“A Christmas Gift for Your Hometown?”

The word “home” generally conjures up warm feelings and great memories.  When we think about our birthplace and where we grew up, it brings back memories of good friends and family, wonderful experiences and places filling us with pride and respect.

Some may make an occasional trip back to the hometown to see friends or family, but others may only travel back through memories.  The trip back home is one we want to be pleasant - we want our hometown to be as clean and beautiful as we remember.

Quite often that trip back home can be disappointing.  The clean and beautiful image has become tarnished with buildings that are not so bright and shiny or properties that are not so neat and clean.  We become discouraged and uncomfortable that change is occurring and often not for the better.  So what is the answer?

Recently an Iowa couple gifted $50,000 to Keep Iowa Beautiful to help spruce up their home town and make it the place of beauty they remembered – an idea we are calling “Hometown Help”.  The funds will be distributed over two or three years to help community leaders and residents improve town and private properties through targeted clean ups, painting and repair, plantings and signage - stimulating and building a sense of pride and respect.

The challenge to the community will be to develop a plan for the expenditure of the funds that will provide the highest return in terms of improving the community.  The investments need to be ones that cause a chain reaction of other improvements.

The “Hometown Help” gift will be leveraged through matching donations of in-kind goods and services as well as cash from other businesses, foundations, etc.   When the program is completed, this community enhancement investment may well exceed $100,000.  Can you imagine a better way to give a gift to your hometown and secure wonderful memories for the future?   

Careful - the idea of “Hometown Help” can be contagious.  Consider making a “Hometown Help” gift to your special community.  Contact us to see how we can help you explore the idea for your hometown.

Helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful

Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

• Clean-up of areas to discourage littering;
• General public awareness of the costs and the methods for prevention;
• Litter-free school campus programs for our youth.

Keep Iowa Beautiful will work in partnership with IDOT to achieve a roadway adoption rate of 100%. The litter hotline, 1-888-No Littr (665-4887), initiated by KIB two years ago empowers Iowans to action. Litter reporting lets others know someone is watching and cares. In partnership with Character Counts in Iowa!, KIB is developing service learning projects focused on community beautification and improvement on school campuses.
Service clubs, youth groups, families, churches and religious organizations, businesses and social groups can all help – you can make a difference every day. TRY IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT!

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

July 4th has come and gone and the celebration of our independence was fleeting and filled with food and fireworks. It was the time to remember and celebrate our nation’s independence from England’s rule. Rather than allocating that celebration to one day, we need to remember our independence every day. Wouldn’t it be fitting if we could use that event to celebrate a different kind of independence from another threat to America – the growing volume of litter and debris! Instead of the cry “the redcoats are coming” we have a cry that “the litter is coming.” We don’t need to raise our “arms” except to prevent littering.
Imagine a State without any litter and the annual bill of more than $27+ million that we pay for picking up after ourselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate an Iowa that is known for its cleanliness, beauty and freedom from litter?

The growing tide of litter and debris showing up on our landscape, in our communities, hanging on the trees, bushes and fences and choking our waters is not only a physical, environmental and safety menace, it is a disgrace – destroying the pride we have in where we live, affecting our economy and negatively impacting our society.
Taxpayers in Iowa (through governments at all levels) are already spending over $13.5 million per year cleaning up litter and debris. The private sector (stores, restaurants, businesses, retail outlets and malls) spend at least that amount cleaning up parking lots, buildings, walkways and open space areas. That total of over $27 million could be used for other community and state needs.

The current penalty for roadway littering in Iowa is $70 (in our State Parks the penalty is only $35) - one of the lowest in the nation! It is certainly not much of a deterrent for the litterer, nor is it much of an incentive for the enforcement community to enforce. In addition penalties paid go to the general fund of the State. No tracking of issued citations takes place so you will have to speculate on the number citations are issued in a year – my research indicates very few. I would doubt that 100 citations are issued annually throughout the state.

It’s time to increase the littering penalty to a level that will truly be seen as a deterrent. We also need to make sure that citation funds go back to the local issuing law enforcement. Revenue from litter citations could also fund prevention programs like the litter hotline and litter-free school efforts. These type of programs are currently hosted on a limited scale by Keep Iowa Beautiful through private funds and selected grants.

If a penalty increase is considered, the penalty level should be based on severity of littering as in several other states. For example, the penalty for throwing a single item out of a vehicle window could be at the new minimum level while large volumes of illegal dumping would be fined at the highest level (currently up to $5,000). Penalty levels need to match the severity of littering, and in all cases a mandatory public service for a convicted violator needs to be included. The penalty should be automatic unless appealed by the person receiving the citation – the same as a traffic ticket.

It is time to begin the celebration of a state free from litter and move ahead with a enforcement program that will reduce litter and reinstate pride in a more beautiful Iowa.

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

Help initiate and support prevention efforts with these next steps:
• Increase and streamline litter penalty laws in Iowa (penalties are a strong deterrent – they should not simply be viewed as a revenue source); current penalties are among the lowest in the nation;
• Make all private, high school and college sporting events, parades and festivals “litter free;”
• Develop strong community enhancement programs that focus on improving the image and beauty of the places where we live, work and play;
• Build partnerships with schools and youth so they feel an ownership in the community;
• Focus on creative and positive ways of getting rid of and reducing unsightly nuisances;
• Initiate litter prevention and recycling programs at home, in our business sector, schools and the community; and
• Manage public properties and government equipment as a model of cleanliness and beauty.

Those are a few examples of what we can do to get rid of the “trouble” in River City
and make our State and communities a source of pride for residents and a pleasant
surprise for visitors. Let’s change the idea that we are losing ground and a sense of
pride in our State.
 

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

April – 2009

“Can Your Community Pass the 30 Second Test?”

You have just 30 seconds!!!!  Within 30 seconds of seeing a person for the first time you have almost instantly assessed that individual’s:   

• • Educational level
• • Career competence and success
• • Personality
• • Level of sophistication
• • Trustworthiness
• • Sense of humor
• • Social heritage

Social psychologists tell us that we are quick to make judgment of someone or someplace based almost totally on appearance.  They have determined that is how long it takes for you to form that laundry list of impressions about personal character and abilities.  We make up our minds in the first 30 seconds.  Once you have formed that “first impression” it takes a considerable amount of time and effort for you to change your opinion.  

In a perfect world what you just did in forming that first impression is not fair, moral or just.  What’s inside a person or community should count for a great deal more.  Eventually it does, but not right away.  In the meantime, a great deal of opportunities can be lost.

Thirty seconds doesn’t give you time to pull out your college transcript, showcase your resume, or present character references.  In the case of a community, there’s little time to show the quality of your sewer and water services, define the character and quality of your work force, share your plans for the future or show the “inside” of your community.   

When you see a community or place for the first time the list is equally long.  In those first 30 seconds you assess a community’s:

• • Cultural vitality
• • Sense of order and political commitment
• • Community sophistication
• • Quality of residents

• • Sense of community pride
• • Friendliness
• • Comfort level and community warmth
• • Respect for one another
• • Sense of identity and place
• • Work ethic

In 30 seconds we form those opinions of communities and places we travel, based almost entirely on what we see – a visual image!  Good impressions are based on well-planned communities, clean and litter-free downtowns, appealing signage, attractive and well-maintained buildings, repaired fences, absence of any public nuisances, landscape features and beautification programs that you can see, attractive entryways that invite, presence of public art, well-maintained public properties that set an example, clean public vehicles, no weeds and attractive lighting.  

Take the test – have someone that has never been to your community make a visit.  Have them give you their “30-second” first impression.  Validate it with others that may be visiting the community for the first time.

Quick impressions can be lasting ones.  Psychologists call it the “halo effect.”  When your visual message is positive, you will tend to assume that the other “inside” aspects about you or the community are equally positive.  Unfortunately, if your visual image is negative, it transfers to everything else.  That person seeing you or the community may not spend the time and effort to discover the “inside information” that makes you or your community special.

Make sure that your community can pass the “30-second test” – it can mean the difference in the future of your community.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

February – 2009

“Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette!”

This phrase from the popular Phil Harris song back in the 50’s and 60’s lamented cigarettes and the health problem they caused.  The second line to that song is “Puff, puff, puff and if you puff yourself to death, tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate that you just hated to make him wait!”  Smoking continues to be a health threat today and also translates into a significant litter and environmental problem for not only Iowa, but the nation.  

Iowans have a strong sense of pride in their State.  They get highly irritated when they pull up behind a vehicle and see the driver or a passenger throw a cigarette butt out the window.  The same is true when running the gauntlet of smokers outside a business building and having to look at the cigarette butts on the ground (even with smoking receptacles nearby).

There are an estimated 430,000 smokers in Iowa according to the Iowa Department of Public Health (early 2008 data).  Assuming an average of one pack smoked a day, smokers produce an estimated:

• • 7,300 cigarette butts per year per smoker.
• • 31,390,000 butts (the majority of those are with a filter) per year, with each weighing 0.10 of an ounce or 2.0 ounces per pack.
• • 2,341,750 pounds (approximately 142 tons) of cigarette butts per year.  
• • That represents 7,847,500 or 35.5 tons of cigarette butts that end up on our landscape (assuming a figure of 25% of the cigarette butts), negatively impacting our natural and cultural environment each year.  Remember that a filter can last from three to seven years so the cumulative effect can be even more significant.

Impacts on society are equally important and include:

• • An unsightly cultural blemish on the landscape.

• • Debris and chemical pollution in our State’s waters.

• • Fires resulting from those thrown cigarette butts that cause thousands of dollars of expense.

• • A habit that encourages forms of civil disobedience such as littering.

For those of you that are still smoking, please be considerate of others and our environment - smoke in designated places and dispose of your cigarette and tobacco litter properly.  Keep Iowa “Clean, Green and Tobacco Free” as well as beautiful.

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Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director

Keep Iowa Beautiful

300 East Locust – Suite 100

Des Moines, IA  50309

Phone:  515-323-6507

E-mail:  gschnepf@keepiowabeautiful.com

Web Page:  www.keepiowabeautiful.com

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

Dollars for Iowa community and neighborhood enhancement projects are again available to charitable entities. Three different programs supported by KIB provide opportunities for improving the appearance of the community where you live and work. These three programs have made improvements to dozens of projects and communities throughout Iowa over the past years through the allocation of tens of thousands of dollars.

The three programs are:
• Iowa State Income Tax “Keep Iowa Beautiful Check-off Grants” – Due December 31st of this year.
• Paint Iowa Beautiful grants supported by Diamond Vogel Paints – due February 28, 2009.
• Litter Enforcement Award for recognition of enforcement officers that are active in litter prevention efforts – due December 31st of this year.
• Keep Iowa Beautiful Income Tax Check-off: Applications are available on www.sysplan.dot.state.ia.us/keepiabeautiful.htm or www.keepiowabeautiful under “Grants & Awards.” Funds up to $5,000 are available on a non-repayable grant basis. Applications are made to the Office of Systems Planning, Iowa Department of Transportation. Grants are available for:
• Litter removal,
• Litter prevention / education / public awareness,
• Beautification,
• Waste management or recycling,
• Illegal dumping abatement, or
• Public nuisance abatement.

Grant requests are reviewed by a committee that considers the project itself and the degree of matching dollars for the project. The more local match that there is, the higher the rating. Check the web pages for more details.

Paint Iowa Beautiful Awards
This program is supported by Diamond Vogel Paint Company of Orange City. This company has been a good friend to communities and to Keep Iowa Beautiful in providing paint for facility improvements. Grant requests for charitable and public projects normally do not exceed 30 gallons. Bonus points are received for volunteer efforts involving youth. Interior painting projects are generally not considered. Applications are made to Keep Iowa Beautiful and program details are available on our web page www.keepiowabeautiful.com under “Grants & Awards.” Successful grant recipients must purchase the paint from a local Diamond Vogel dealer (visit www.diamondvogel.com for locations). Upon project completion, invoices are submitted (along with before and after photo’s) to Keep Iowa Beautiful for reimbursement.
Deadline for applications is February 28th, 2009 with award made by mid-April of 2009.

Litter Enforcement Awards
KIB Board Member, John Schneller and his wife, Judy, of West Des Moines sponsor a law enforcement recognition program to help bring attention to the issue of littering and to support positive litter prevention efforts. Each year two $1,000 awards are made to nominated officers. The officers each receive a recognition certificate and the right to designate a local community enhancement project to receive the $1,000 cash payment. This approach reinforces the idea of “community policing” by supporting local efforts in area betterment.

Letters of nomination need to clearly identify officer accomplishments in terms of litter prevention efforts and why they deserve the award. Nomination deadline is December 31, 2008 with awards made in January.

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful
 

Have you ever met anyone that has visited every community in Iowa (incorporated and un- incorporated)? My travels around Iowa have been pretty extensive, but even I can’t claim that title. It’s hard to believe that one person has actually visited all 1,181 communities.

A few months ago I ran into this individual and learned the details of this extraordinary feat. This project began in November of 1998 and ended in November of 2003. What an amazing effort! Not only did he visit each community, he evaluated each one on image and appearance. I’m holding back his name “to protect the innocent.”

The criteria used to evaluate the communities was based on appearance in two categories:
• Natural features of the area, i.e. topography, trees, water bodies, unique features, etc.
• Man-made features such as buildings, streets, landscaping, signage, layout of the community, etc.

Other less visual factors like economy, cultural opportunities, “quality” of the residents, crime rate, educational levels, etc. were not included in this evaluation. Without getting into all the details – the evaluations were completed by one person using the same criteria each time – so there was consistency in the evaluation process. Each community received a numerical score ranging from the most attractive community at 310 points to the lowest or least attractive at 65 points.

The evaluator then grouped them into five categories:
• Most Attractive
• Good Looking
• Mediocre
• Less-than-desirable
• Least Attractive

This is not necessarily an evaluation that is endorsed by Keep Iowa Beautiful, but it does represent one person’s evaluation of the image or appearance of Iowa’s communities. I’ve chosen to share this information to encourage discussion and debate. I hope it motivates action to clean-up and place every community in Iowa in the “Top 40.” These communities listed below were selected based on geographic and size balance as well as attractiveness.

• Amana
• Arnolds Park
• Asbury
• Atlantic
• Baxter
• Bellevue
• Cedar Rapids
• Chariton
• Clarinda
• Clear Lake
• Clive
• Conrad
• Cresco
• Decorah
• Des Moines
• Dyersville
• Eagle Grove
• Elkader
• Emmetsburg
• Fairbank
• Grinnell
• Guttenberg
• Holy Cross
• Keomah Village
• Keystone
• Lake View
• Lenox
• McGregor
• Mt. Pleasant
• Mt. Vernon
• Orange City
• Oskaloosa
• Pella
• Perry
• Shenandoah
• Sioux Center
• St. Ansgar
• Templeton
• Washington
• West Branch

Congratulations to those that made his “top 40” list. Let’s do our best to make every Iowa community a “top 40” community.
 

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful
 

Throughout Iowa – spring is the time to do housecleaning, either of our home, work place, neighborhood or community. It is a time to make everything look clean and orderly and to get rid of those items that no longer serve any purpose in our lives. We use this time to give us a fresh start for the rest of the year – in essence we begin the rest of the year with a “clean plate”.
We gather in groups and clean up our parks, rivers and roads and streets. For Keep America Beautiful this time is called the “Great American Cleanup” – citizens across the U.S. volunteer and become part of the nation’s largest organized cleanup effort. From March through May millions of tons of trash and litter are picked up by thousands of volunteers across America. We do it because litter and debris on our countryside is depressing, degrades the landscape and for some it causes real sadness.
Just as Iron Eyes Cody looks at the landscape and reflects on the nature of society and wonders how anyone can desecrate the natural beauty of our country - each of us need to take another look at our countryside and neighborhoods. We need to help encourage others to gain back that respect for a clean and attractive countryside. The phrase – TAKE A STAND FOR YOUR LAND becomes appropriate.
I’m sure Iowans don’t really want to continue cleaning up after others by serving as janitors for those that don’t respect the land or our society. Generally, Iowans would prefer to avoid the need to do these community cleanups. Until we have a strong education program in place and a strong attitude by adult Iowans not to tolerate litter, debris and unattractive areas, we need to use these cleanups as an opportunity to help train the younger generation by getting them involved. When they get their hands dirty the lesson is learned. That experience often has the potential of making a great impression, an impression that frequently lasts and results in a change of our behavior patterns.
For those of you that would formally like to be involved in the Great American Cleanup please contact me. We can discuss the program and make sure that you become registered for the next years Great American Cleanup. Your involvement will make you a partner with thousands of other communities. It will also result in various cleanup supplies being provided by Keep America Beautiful. Whatever you call your local event it is important to have an educational feature tied to it so that there are lessons learned, remembered and practiced. Spring housecleaning can have a lasting impact on our lives.

Enhancing your neighborhood and community while supporting Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) has just become easier! “Surf“ the web and check out our new website (www.keepiowabeautiful.com). It is the same address, but a new look and filled with enhanced features. The percentage of the public that is using the internet continues to grow in geometric proportions. It becomes “the way to do business and to keep your constituency informed of what you are doing and opportunities that will help them.”

Web pages need to be updated constantly and periodically the total page needs to be changed to keep up with current technology and changes that are occurring in society. Going “on-line” to the Keep Iowa Beautiful site can be a great experience. Don’t forget to look at the partnerships that have been formed and the “links” with those partners. The ability to gain new and helpful information just keeps getting better.

Visit KIB on-line and have fun making some choices that will help you and /or your community:

• Check on Keep Iowa Beautiful’s annual “First Impressions” symposium (Date for 2009 will be posted on the web page later in the year) or Talons of Tuscany golf event (September 10, 2008).
• Make a donation on-line with your credit card to support statewide and local community enhancement and litter prevention projects.
• Find information on community enhancement grants and law enforcement awards.
• Ask a question about litter prevention or other issues.
• Find out how to make events “Litter Free”.
• Find a local contact in your community.
• Buy some items that will help keep your area clean and beautiful.
• Read about good things that are happening in communities across Iowa.
• Contact us with any ideas or questions you may have.
• See the most recent news items about programs.
• And much more.

The electronic information system is marvelous in its ability to help us make life easier, In KIB’s instance to help you enhance your area, community and the State. If your visit to our web-page it is not a positive experience, please let us know. HAPPY SEARCHING!
 

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

• A donation of a part of the anticipated tax refund so that the amount returned to the taxpayer is minus that donation or
• Through the indication that the taxpayer is willing to pay additional dollars to their tax payment for the KIB Check-off.

This check-off opportunity is on line 58 of the Iowa Tax Form. Give it a check.

The funds collected at the end of the tax year are then turned over to the Iowa Department of Transportation for administration. By administrative rule and at the original suggestion of KIB, 75% of those dollars are distributed in small grants to communities and projects that provide for litter / illegal dumping education and / or prevention, enhancement of Iowa communities or increased recycling opportunities or education efforts. To date over $208,000 has been awarded to 81 communities and in addition KIB received over $90,000 for statewide programs.

The deadline for grant applications is December 31, 2007. Grant requirements and application form can be found on the KIB (www.keepiowabeautiful.com) and Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) web sites.

2. The “Litter Enforcement Award” was started in 2002 (with the first awards in 2003) by John and Judy Schneller of West Des Moines. Frustration about the number of cigarette butts around the State Capitol grounds at a KIB-Rotary sponsored cleanup motivated John and Judy to provide an annual $2,000 grant (split into two $1,000 awards) to recognize enforcement officers that are actively involved in litter and illegal dumping prevention efforts. The selected officers receive a commemorative award and the right to designate a community enhancement project to receive the $1,000 award. The commemorative award is presented at one event in front of his or her peers and the check is presented by the officer to the project of their choosing at a second event. This double presentation gives the officer, the project and the cause significant media attention.


Nominate a special officer (police officer, State Patrol officer, code enforcement officer, conservation officer, State Park officer, etc.) for these two awards. Submit a letter of recommendation outlining the officer’s efforts to KIB at gschenpf@keepiowabeautiful.com or 300 E. Locust St., Suite 100, Des Moines, IA 50309 by December 31, 2007.
Make a gift this year that will enhance Iowa - submit a grant or enforcement award application. When you do your taxes next year remember the Keep Iowa Beautiful Check-off fund.

Happy Holidays – thanks for helping to make Iowa cleaner and more beautiful.
 

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

After a year, record levels of calls on vehicular littering continue to be received –
approximately 50 to 100 calls per week! The hotline serves as an outlet for frustrated
motorists who witness others littering.
Law enforcement officers aren’t always in a position to see those that are littering. This
hotline allows you to become a partner with the enforcement community in stopping
littering in Iowa. A majority of calls relate to cigarette / tobacco littering.
The success of this program is a result of the partnership between Keep Iowa Beautiful, the
Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa State Sheriffs & Deputies Association and the Iowa Police
Executive Forum with assistance from Iowa Network Services. A recent grant from the
Iowa Department of Natural Resources will provide funding for marketing and
promotional materials that will help make sure all Iowans know about the hotline and can
be recruited to help prevent littering.
Alliant Energy, Atlantic Bottling Company, Iowa Grocery Industry Association, and
Waste Management, Inc. have also provided financial support for the program.
When a hotline call is received and the information verified, law enforcement officials
send a warning letter to the registered vehicle owner regarding the littering incident along
with a litter bag or portable cigarette ashtray.
The hotline provides other tools and opportunities for Iowans to become involved in
keeping Iowa clean and green, including:
• Reporting illegal dumping activities (larger volumes of litter deliberately
and generally disposed of in remote areas).
• Adopting an area - roadway, river shoreline, part of a park or other public
land, parking lots, lake area shoreline and other public areas - and
agreeing to periodically remove litter and debris.
• Requesting more information on Keep Iowa Beautiful.
Our thanks go to all the individuals and companies that are helping to Keep Iowa Beautiful
by reporting vehicular litter. To our friends that have been reporting those littering by
phoning the hotline – our thanks! For those that haven’t used it, give the hotline a try –
you will like it. Take a stand for your land by keeping it clean.

It can be frustrating to pull up behind a vehicle at a stoplight or stop sign and watch the driver dump an ash tray filled with cigarette butts on to the street or to watch someone throw a bag of fast food remnants out the window while driving down the road. It is a helpless feeling – you want to do something but there is not anything you can do except get angry.
That has changed – now you can do something about it! A new program started in October where you can now phone in and report littering or illegal dumping that you see taking place. A 1-888-No Littr (665-4887) number has been established in conjunction with Iowa Network Services, the Iowa State Patrol, the Sheriffs and Deputies Association, the Iowa Police Executive Forum and Keep Iowa Beautiful.
When you phone the number you can leave messages in four different topics:
1. Report littering, 2. Report illegal dumping, 3. Find out how you can adopt and area to clean-up and take care of,
or 4. How you can help to Keep Iowa Beautiful.
In all cases the prompts ask you for information so that the follow-up can be made. In the case of littering – the information is forwarded to the Iowa State Patrol – if the information contains sufficient detail the individual associated with the licensed vehicle is sent the following letter:
Dear (Registered Owner(s) of Vehicle):
Keep Iowa Beautiful has partnered with Iowa Law Enforcement in efforts to inform citizens like you of the hazards and costs associated with unlawful littering. Recently, a citizen reported seeing litter tossed from a vehicle registered to you, (license number) on (date) near (location). At times, people make mistakes in reporting license plate information. If that is the case, please accept our apology.
Regardless, we ask that you join us in our efforts to Keep Iowa Beautiful. Randomly discarded trash – even the smallest item such as a cigarette butt – endangers our environment, our wildlife, and may even threaten our safety. Picking up litter and debris costs taxpayers like you more than $13.5 million each year. Our goal is to stop litter.
To help make a difference, we ask Iowans to please prevent litter:
Teach young people not to litter Always dispose of your trash in a proper receptacle Carry and use a litter bag in your vehicle Never throw anything out your window
Cover truck beds when transporting trash or other loose items
To further help prevent litter, please accept the enclosed litter bag as a gift that you can utilize in your vehicle for stowing trash and litter. The bag is specially designed to fit over a headrest in your vehicle. Instructions for proper use are printed on the back of the bag.
We appreciate your support in Keeping Iowa Beautiful! Sincerely,
Robert O. Garrison, Colonel Chief Iowa State Patrol www.iowastatepatrol.org
Deputy Chris Hinds President Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association www.issda.org
Gerald F. Schnepf Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful www.keepiowabeautiful.com
Chief Michael Klappholz President Iowa Police Executive Forum www.ipef.net
A straight forward, but congenial letter, indicating that someone was watching and someone cares. It allows each of us to do our part in helping to stop littering. Enforcement officers don’t often see littering so we can help become their eyes to a more beautiful and clean State by reporting littering when we see it.
In the case of illegal dumping – if the act is taking place you are asked to hang up and phone 911 which will take you directly to the local sheriff’s office for action. If it is to report an illegal dump site – detailed information is requested. In this case and in the case of adopting an area or how you can help Keep Iowa Beautiful – you can leave detailed messages that will be acted on or passed on to the appropriate entity for action and follow-up.
Write the number down where it is handy when you are driving or better yet, program it into your cell phone.
Initial level of phone calls from around the State ranges from 25 to 75 per week. The predominant report on littering is the throwing of cigarettes out of the car window – generally they are still lit! In a large percentage of the calls the first time caller leaves a “thanks for doing this” message. A great initial success without much promotion effort.
“Take the time to report the crime” by phoning the number - it will let people know that someone is watching and that we care about keeping our State clean and beautiful. Give it a try and “Take a Stand for Your Land”.

Having just completed celebrating America’s independence makes me think that we should be celebrating another form of independence - freedom from littered neighborhoods, roadways and countryside. How we treat our countryside tends to reflect how we feel about our country.
Ben Franklin was known for his wisdom and quotable quotes. One quote that is particularly appropriate to litter and illegal dumping (the early signs of community’s demise) - “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Meaning that if you address a problem when it first appears will save a great deal of time, frustration and money in trying to rectify the problem later.
Similar phrases like the old proverb “a stitch in time saves nine” also reflect the idea that a little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to the high cost of fixing up after the crisis.
The key to both phrases is to know when you have a problem and when your efforts place you ahead of the crisis. If it is costing taxpayers over $13.5 million dollars a year to pick up litter and debris and if it costs the business community another estimated $13.5 million dollars a year is it a crisis or a problem? Don’t we have a better use for the over $27 million a year spent in cleaning up after ourselves? How many community improvements would that fund, how many teachers and police officers could we hire? According to recent research those are the figures that we are tolerating in Iowa. I would suggest that we have a crisis! The question is will the ounce of prevention still help?
At the local level, an example comes from Boone County - in 2005 it cost the secondary roads department the following to clean up illegal dump sites along those roads in the county:
Labor = $58,565.68 Equipment / Machinery = $51,108.18 Total = $109,839.18
If that same illegally dumped material had been taken to the landfill and the proper fees paid, the total cost would have been $1,425.32.
In this instance, every $1 spent for “an ounce of prevention” would have saved taxpayers $77 for “a pound of cure.”
These figures come from a county that has a relatively aggressive but financially limited program to reduce illegal dumping in 2005. Prevention efforts did result in a reduction of the number of dumped appliances from 112 in 2004 to 52 in 2005.
Is this a crisis or a problem? I would suggest that it is both and that we need to be outraged at the cost to clean up after those that litter and illegally dump material. What
will it take to get Iowans’ attention to the issue? What will it take to re-new our pride in America? Isn’t it worth spending a little time and money to change the trend, turn around the problem and gain our independence from litter and debris? Fellow Iowan’s - let’s start demanding a prevention program. Lets ask for the “ounce of prevention” while it can still head of an even greater problem in the future.

Exactly one year ago I shared the story about a trip to Northeast Iowa and the travel experience through Delaware County. The drive took us through the rolling hills of a strikingly beautiful countryside – not unlike portions of Bavaria in Europe. Almost every farm, farm site and community was clean, well maintained and “picture postcard” attractive.

At the time it seemed that the phrase “Neat and Tidy” surely must have originated in Delaware County. The lawns, roadways and buildings showed a high degree of respect and pride by the owners. The communities were well manicured and each with an attractive new entry sign. It soon became a challenge for us to find the “unattractive or ugly side of the equation”. We never found it.

Recently – on another trip to plan the route for a vintage vehicle tour called “MotorIoway” our travels took us to Sully, Iowa. Sully was a breakfast pit stop on the MotorIoway 500 vintage car tour (May 31 – June 1 – 3). The phrase “Neat and Tidy” could also have originated in Sully. As a community it is in effective competition with Delaware County.
Sully is a community of about 900 people. The entryways to the town are clean and attractive, the homes well painted and cared for and everything well maintained. Once in town the small town square becomes the center of your attention. It is beautiful and active containing a park like square, the community center, post office, restaurant and several other occupied buildings. On the corner of the square sits a restored “Deep Rock” gas station complete with pumps. It is attractively landscaped by a very active garden club.
Restored “Deep Rock” Station – Sully, Iowa

The people we met take great pride in the town and the “quality of life” that they enjoy. We talked at some length about how it is that the community is so clean and attractive. One of those local people said it well “Everybody puts in a nickel’s worth of effort and pretty soon it becomes a dollar”.

That phrase reflects what makes a small community vibrant and healthy. It is not simply one person or one organization – it is everyone acting as a responsible community member with great pride and respect for their home town. What a simple and wonderful lesson for communities around the State. 
 

Gerald F. Schnepf - Executive Director Keep Iowa Beautiful

The enforcement community (those with “badges”) are challenged to cover and protect us from a wide variety of societal ills. Those officers are trained to know and understand a concept called the “Broken Window” theory – a concept that when explained will be also be recognized by the reader.
George Keeling is the author of the concept. If a window is broken in an abandoned building and it is not repaired rather quickly it sends the message that “the rest of the windows are free to break”. That is generally what happens – the rest of the windows are broken and the building rapidly declines frequently being used in ways that are not acceptable to the community. What happens next is that a decline of, not only the building, but also the area around the building and the neighborhood starts.
Thus the “broken window” becomes a symbol that something is wrong in society. It shows disrespect and a lack of pride by the people that own and live around that building. The “broken window” can also be symbolized by buildings that are unpainted or not maintained, fences that are in disrepair, signs that are outdated, weeds, debris and waste, public property that is not cared for and the simplest form or symbol is that of litter on the landscape. Litter becomes one of the earliest symbols (like the broken window) that something is wrong in the community or area.
Litter often becomes the sign of the potential for other crimes against society. If a person feels that they can litter, they may also feel that it is okay to jay-walk, maybe to speed or not stop at the stop sign. If those “small” crimes become acceptable to an individual they can often lead to bigger crimes. Those in the enforcement community know that the symbolism is real. They know that those that have records of small crimes often leads to larger crimes.
When Mayor Giuliani of New York City became frustrated with the high incidence of “major crimes” in the city he indicated that he couldn’t deal with or stop the big crimes so he decided to focus on dealing with the “small crimes”. As a result he placed the emphasis on the police force to deal with the small crimes of street window washers, jay walkers, turn style jumpers, public exposure incidents, hustlers, vandalism and littering. In a matter of a couple of years his focus resulted in a dramatic decline in major crime – rape, assaults, murder, acts of violence, etc. This model has been repeated in other communities with similar success. In essence this concept is telling us to tend to the earliest and simplest crimes before they turn into a life style of the more severe crimes. It reflects the concept that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
For the enforcement community (those in blue), that concept may be easier to talk about than to put into action. The general public tends to want the focus on the major crime and not the smaller crimes that are the precursors and lead to them. This often causes those in blue to respond to the public pressure and try to deal with the major crimes. They end up treating the symptom and not the cause. Rather than the development of a preventative
program that can have a major beneficial impact on our communities and our society in the long run.
Help those in blue – the enforcement community - to develop programs that provide long term solutions and not simply the treatment of the symptoms. Support efforts to deal with the “small” crimes in your community. As spring approaches, the snow is gone and the brown of the countryside is exposed – the amount of litter and debris along our roadways and streets clearly shows that litter is not a small crime. It costs you and I as taxpayers over $13.5 million per year to clean up after ourselves. It undoubtedly costs the private sector an equivalent or greater amount to clean up parking lots, property, etc. Imagine $25 to $30 million per year in needless expense. We have better uses for those dollars.
There really are no “small” crimes – they are all simply crimes against society – small or large.

Thoughts of spring start to creep into our mind as we move into January. This article fits for spring thoughts.
The expression – “take time to smell the roses” is a gentle reminder to stop for a moment in our busy lives and look at the things around us. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our lives, particularly over the holidays, that we forget to look at the beauty around us and how it can refresh our minds. Recently a friend forwarded a story that had been sent to him. The source is not known, however, it is worth sharing. The story could in fact be about the wild rose of Iowa. It is a story that fits the title of this article as well as the objectives of Keep Iowa Beautiful. It is a great lesson for all of us.
“Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.
"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."
"How far will we have to drive?"
"Oh, just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "But I'll drive. I'm used to this."
After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"
"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."
"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.
"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time-- often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.
She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.
The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"
Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting..... Until your car or home is paid off Until you get a new car or home Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school Until you finish school Until you clean the house Until you organize the garage Until you clean off your desk Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs. Until you get married Until you get a divorce Until you have kids Until the kids go to school Until you retire
Until summer Until spring Until winter Until fall Until you die....
There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, and Dance like no one's watching.
Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!”
Think spring, take time to smell the roses, do it now and remember that one person can make a difference.

Mrs. Dixie Gebhardt the designer of our Iowa Flag would certainly be bothered to see the title to this column. The flag was officially adopted in 1921. The slogan on that flag is one that we should all remember “Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We Will Maintain”. That phrase certainly did not mean the “right to litter” as it impacts one key liberty that all Iowan’s prize - a beautiful and generally clean countryside.
No matter where you walk or drive in Iowa, it seems to have become a common sight to see the all too familiar plastic bag, either caught in the taller plants, fences, shrubs or the trees. This situation has led me to coin the phrase – “Iowa’s new un-official flag”. Those plastic bags (frequently joined by other forms of plastic film) flying in the breeze, have become far more common than our official State Flag. Without legislative action they may soon become the flag like symbol that Iowa will be known for.
Insert your own local photo of plastic “blowing in the wind”.
How often have we been in a store or shop and the clerk puts our purchase (even though it is a single item) into a plastic bag. Many of us tell the clerk not to put it in a bag, however, a larger number seem to take the bag and item out of the building and either on the way to the car take the item out and let the bag fly. In other cases – they get to the vehicle and the passenger (or driver) takes the item out of the bag, lowers the window and throws the bag out to blow across the lot and become trapped in the taller plants, fences, shrubs or trees.
Lets all take action to honor the original work and commitment of Mrs. Gebhardt in the design of the official Iowa flag. We all take pride in that flag – make sure the plastic bag does not take its place (even if unofficially). Begin your actions and change your behavior patterns. You can help by:
Taking your own carry bag to the store when shopping for smaller items. Asking the clerk not to give you a plastic bag and if a small number, carry your items. If you take a plastic bag – simply wait until you are home and can dispose of it properly in your recycling program.
Don’t tolerate those that are throwing out the plastic bags. Train your children and grandchildren in the same way.
With your help we can keep the “real” Iowa Flag flying. 

To keep Principal Park here in Des Moines, Iowa, looking beautiful, the Iowa Cubs and Keep Iowa Beautiful have worked together to promote the idea of a litter free event. During the baseball season, the accumulation of trash in the stadium during a game is always a topic of concern. Trash receptacles were not being used to full potential due to fans placing their trash below seats. Fans were not aware of the mass of garbage left in the stands after games, let alone the time and amount of people it takes to pick it all up. Something needed to be done to help solve this problem.
In order to increase awareness to those in attendance, the Iowa Cubs teamed up with the waste removal industry in Des Moines to offer a trash dash during the middle of a selected inning throughout the season to promote a “litter free” event. In years past, a handful of fans were selected to compete for prizes by aiming to collect the most trash. However, this promotion only focused on a few of the seating sections. This past year, a different plan was implemented to get more of the stadium involved by using the ushers to collect trash from fans in their sections.
No matter how this topic is approached, it will always be an issue. The good thing is that we are noticing more fans becoming aware of the problem. Fans are getting more involved by helping fill the ushers bags or by taking the time to throw their garbage away in the provided trash receptacles. By increasing awareness, the trash accumulation at the end of the night decreases, therefore, decreasing the time spent on picking up the trash after the game. Hopefully fans will take this knowledge outside of the ballpark to Keep Iowa Beautiful.
IowaCubs Management
The letter clearly indicates progress in the “training” of fans not to litter. We are excited at the leadership of the Iowa Cubs in helping to change the behavior pattern of those attending the games. Give it a thought and develop your own “event litter prevention plan” for your own “home run”.

Driving around Iowa frequently takes you through the small towns that often bring back memories or thoughts or rural farm life in Iowa. Many times the image of these small towns is one of abandoned buildings, property in decay along with weeds and debris. Often the unattractiveness of the community can be likened to a cancer that is slowly attacking and destroying the town. It seems as though no one cares about the disease or the decline – unattractive areas become acceptable. Many of us have seen those communities and are bothered by the lack of local pride and respect.
In June on a trip to northwest Iowa to the town of Linn Grove (population 211) my wife and I had a great experience. The town is located on the wooded hillside of a beautiful valley along the Little Sioux River. It is easy to imagine why early settlers selected the site – it has a natural beauty and all of the assets needed for settlement. Today it has a short main street, a few business buildings, city center building, a new bridge and a low- head dam on the river in a park area on the north edge of town (the grist mill is long gone).
Most importantly is has is a great set of local citizen leaders determined to make the community continue to be attractive, clean and viable. Old buildings have been taken down, others preserved, streets are clean, the annual festival is successful and a new miniature mill and park have been developed along the main street. It gives the feeling that the town and its people care and are working hard to keep Linn Grove as a small viable community.
Two people that are helping lead the way in that effort are Mayor Dennis Graesing and City Clerk Becky Jessen. They are guiding the development, seeing that public nuisances are dealt with, buildings taken down, new businesses are encouraged and that the community looks attractive and healthy. At times the job is not easy because it is a small town and it would be easy to fall into “letting things go” because of a friendship or relationship with the individual causing the problem. In a large town you can often “hide” from those problems. In a small town they are “in your face” all the time.
Keep Iowa Beautiful Check-off Linn Grove Check Presentation Becky Jessen – City Clerk, Dennis Graesing – Mayor and Gerry Schnepf – Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful.
These two individuals, along with the apparent support of the city council are showing a sense of pride and commitment to the community and standing behind it. Dennis and Becky are models for other small towns – they exude a “can do” attitude. They make it fun and exciting to go into a community where pride is worn on your sleeve.

Buying a sandwich normally costs between $1 and $10. It is not often that you pay $62.50 for a sandwich. There is a story behind this expensive sandwich. Not long ago I was visiting with a Deputy Sheriff from one of Iowa’s more urban counties. The subject of the visit was my favorite topic of littering, litter laws and enforcement or lack of enforcement. During the visit it was discovered that the officer had never written a ticket for littering. I challenged the officer to watch for someone littering.
I didn’t think a great deal about the discussion until last week. I opened my e-mails and there was a note from that Deputy indicating that he had written his first litter ticket. It was to a women that he had seen throw a fast food sandwich bag from her car. Needless to say the women was highly upset. She became even more upset when she discovered that it was going to cost her not only the $35 dollar littering penalty but and additional $10.50 surcharge and $17.00 in court costs for a grand total of $62.50. It was an expensive sandwich – probably the highest price she has ever paid for one. It was a costly lesson for the lady, but even more costly for society if everyone is allowed to litter. It is a lesson that she will remember.
We can ask if the penalty is too high or we might even question whether it is high enough to serve as a deterrent. The issue is that littering costs taxpayers over $13.5 million dollars per year. Cleaning up after those that litter is expensive and easily prevented. With some enforcement activity we can help change that picture and get across the message that it is cheaper to prevent or stop littering rather than to clean up or pay fines for littering.
Littering is not a crime that rates up there with severe criminal actions with the exception that the enforcement community has found that if they maintain active enforcement of smaller crimes like littering, it can have the impact of reducing the level of larger crimes. This has proven to be the case in New York City under former Mayor Giuliani is now the case under the new Police Chief of Los Angeles – Bill Bratton. In approximately one year’s time, through the enforcement of smaller crimes, the homicide rate in Los Angeles has been reduced by over 20%.
It’s called paying attention to detail – littering is one of those details. In the enforcement world it is called “Broken Window Enforcement” (also called “quality of life” policing). If you don’t repair a broken window rather quickly it sends the message that the rest of the windows are free to break and the downhill slid begins for the building and potentially the neighborhood. The broken window is a sign or symbol of civil disobedience just as litter is a symbol. Other “smaller” crimes such as vandalism, drug dealing and use, public intoxication, purse snatching, graffiti, turnstile jumping are also signs of civil disorder or disobedience - “broken windows”. They are the “warning signs”, the details that tell you something is wrong in society.
Throwing out the sandwich bag is one of those signs of disregard or disrespect. The story of the $62.50 sandwich is one that will be spread around the community. When that
happens it will have the additional impact of spreading the lesson to others – it becomes infectious. Enforcing the small or non-violent laws can have a significant impact on society and making it an attractive place to live and work – improving our quality of life.