Steve Lewis, a registered horticulturist and owner of Lewis Horticultural Services, donated his expertise to hold an in-service training session for three City of Middletown staff members this week.  Working at Sunset Park, the training session covered tree pruning from root to leaf-tip and saved the City many dollars since the staff will not have to travel to distant training classes for this particular information.

A part of the Middletown Pride in Action initiative, Keep Middletown Beautiful has instigated a complete redo of Sunset Park this spring. A comprehensive survey was done of all the needed improvements—from weeds to major tree pruning.  Steve Lewis has invited 6-8 area professional landscapers to join him in donating their time and equipment to perform the heavier and more intricate pruning and landscaping jobs that should be done by professionals.  Work has already begun on those elements.  Later, volunteer groups will each be assigned a specific project to complete the revitalization of this major park on Bellemonte Street by the end of April.

Any individual, family or group may volunteer for Keep Middletown Beautiful projects by calling Denise Hall at 513-705-4982 or drop into the office in the Middletown City Building.
 
Other Pride in Action projects are available for volunteer adoption. The Pride in Action committee has divided projects into 12 divisions, each division led by a member of the committee who will stay in touch with project chairs. Committee members are Ann Mort, Sam Ashworth, Maria Langendorf, Chris Papakirk, Marie Edwards and Jeff Michel. To have a project added to the list, adopt a project or joint a team, send an email to RMort@cinci.rr.com, call 513-649-4506 or tell one of the committee members.