April 23, 2024

Miller 'very, very happy' with group's presence in Bridgewater

By Caleb Nelson

Bridgewater Mayor Roberta Carpenter tosses a worn out oscillating fan into a dump truck to be hauled away after the third annual Bridgewater Clean Up Day held Saturday. Doug Miller, one of the organizers of the event that is put on by Take Back Bridgewater, Iowa and the Bridgewater City Council, said the event is a great way to clean up the community each year. (Photo by)

"Take Back Bridgewater, Iowa" (TBB) celebrated its third anniversary last month. The group first began as both a neighborhood watch for their small community and as a rallying point for enhancing quality of life and community pride in Bridgewater.

TBB joined the Bridgewater City Council in having the third annual Bridgewater Clean Up Day Saturday. Doug Miller, spokesperson for TBB, says the event was a big success. Residents were given an opportunity to dispose of items of all kinds. Take Back Bridgewater, Iowa organizes the day and the city council provides a dumpster.

"I think this is good for Bridgewater. We've had a good turnout. It's taking stuff out of the community that we want to get rid of," Miller said. "It's a needed and necessary way of getting rid of stuff for Bridgewater residents."

Miller explained that the Bridgewater Clean Up Day is a prime example of the types of things Take Back Bridgewater, Iowa set out to do in 2017. Currently, the group orchestrates flowers in the downtown area, a park project that was recently completed, Christmas wreaths and a yearly park cleanup day. They have also hosted a "National Night Out" event the last couple of Augusts.

In addition to these events, TBB also has a program that utilizes signage to encourage safe driving in town for the sake of the community's families with children. The group has also worked to get new speed limit signs approved for the county road through town. Those have been approved and will be posted sometime soon.

"We were told by a lot of people that our group would be six months in and we'd be gone. We have a presence. We're a neighborhood watch and are active in Bridgewater," Miller said. "There's not a week that goes by that we don't have somebody bring a problem or concern to us. We're very, very happy with what we've got going on."