A small cleanup project

Behind the burned-out Ratcliff Place building in downtown Huntington is a small parking lot. The last I heard, the lot is owned by Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, which is across 10th Street. Sometime this summer, the lot became a hangout for a group of adults. Often when I would walk by, there would be a half dozen or so people there with recliners, book shelves and I don't know what else. Parts of the lot became covered in litter -- plastic drink cups, water bottles, glass beer bottles. It was a mess. One person told me some of the litter consisted of human waste wrapped in toilet paper. I did not verify that one myself.

One day last week, an article in The Herald-Dispatch mentioned how the lot had become a hangout. That day, I walked past as two men were stringing a steel cable across the entrace of the lot. Hanging from the cable were signs with messages such as "No Trespassing." That day, the congregating of people on the lot ended.

This morning I walked past, and someone had removed the litter. It had to be the cleanest parking lot in Huntington.

Small victories like these count.