Goody Pile cleaned up: Goody Store coming?

An article on the Reporter’s website and in the print edition last week might have helped clean up the “Goody Pile” at the town’s Recycling Center.

That’s according to Commissioner of Public Works Jay Card Jr., who said the attention given the state of the spot where people drop off objects in good shape or pick up the same for free might have been responsible for a change for the better.

Mr. Card said the coverage might have “shamed” people who were using the spot simply as a place to dump unwanted objects and clothes.

Last week the Reporter noted that the Goody Pile had looked like a “pile of junk.”

A visit this weekend and on Monday afternoon showed an orderly place with a courteous Highway Department employee there to assist people dropping off goods.

Mr. Card noted that the general free-for-all condition at the Goody Pile last week might be seasonal, with many people just dumping stuff that they couldn’t sell at yard sales.

At a Highway Department staff meeting last week to focus on the issue, it was decided to have someone manning the Goody Pile on weekends, with employees rotating in two hour shifts.

“We’re trying to get guys to the people before they get out of their cars to help them out,” Mr. Card said.

It’s important that people drop off only what can be used and not taken home by others to repair.

But Mr. Card has other ideas, including using a building at the Recycling Center as a “Goody Store,” which would be run by a volunteer organization selling donated objects, clothes, books and other goods to the public with all money going to charity and worthwhile causes the town can decide on.

Goods that aren’t sold after a certain time could go outside and be picked up free of charge as they are now, Mr. Card suggested.