Town Council Meeting: WAC Students to Clean Up Rail Trail

Gilchrest Rail Trail in Chesterown

Washington College students will conduct their annual cleanup of the Gilchrest Rail Trail this coming Sunday, Oct. 22,

Arianna Hall, the secretary of service and community relations for the college’s Student Government Association, told the Chestertown Mayor and Council at their Oct. 16 meeting that students will gather at the Dixon Valve parking lot at 1 p.m. Sunday  She said the students invited community members as well as college faculty and staff members to join in the effort. Hall said it is important for the campus to be more involved with the community, “We want the event to serve as an opportunity for all of us to come together,” she said.

Mayor Chris Cerino said the town welcomes the effort. He said he would be on hand with his pickup truck to help haul away bags of trash collected by the students. He said previous cleanups had gotten “incredible turnout,” He said his truck could carry as many as 25 bags of trash.

Town Manager Bill Ingersoll said the town has in the past supplied trash bags and gloves to students working to clean the trails. He said town crews may need to do some pre-cleaning, removing fallen limbs and cutting back weeds so cleanup crews can see the trash along the trail.

Hall said the SGA would like to know other ways student volunteers could help out around town — “big or small things,” such as raking leaves or shoveling snow.

Police Chief Adrian Baker promoted Reynolds Peele (front) to Patrolman First Class

Councilwoman Linda Kuiper invited students to volunteer for the Chestertown Tea Party Festival committee, which has been short of members. She said she knew most students would be away from campus on Memorial Day weekend, when the festival takes place, but there is plenty of work to be done before the weekend. She said the committee would especially welcome students who could help with marketing or social media.

Also at the meeting, the council appointed Robety Ortiz to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors of  Elections. Ingersoll said the vacancy arose after Don Cantor asked to be removed from the board to deal with hurricane damage to his Florida vacation home. The council unanimously approved the appointment.

Police Chief Adrian Baker promoted Reynolds Peele to Patrolman First Class. Peele has completed two years of service with the department and met proficiency requirements. He recently returned to duty after completing a year’s deployment with the U.S. Army Reserve in Guantanamo, Cuba.