trash talk

it's a frustrating game. when will the trash be picked up this week? 

the fact is that no one knows. not even the town. the town's "2023 trash holiday schedule" was included with one of last year's water bills. it shows each month for 2023 with some days shaded in blue, green or yellow indicating the days that trash won't be picked up according to the normal schedule. the problem is that there are errors in the schedule.

for example, the 2023 schedule clearly shows that there will be a one-day delay in trash pickup for the first week in January. the problem is that the trash was actually picked up the day before--on the regularly scheduled day. an error in the first week of the year! so much for the reliability of the rest of the information in the schedule. 

upon closer examination, there are more errors: 

1. january only has 30 days--jan 1 is omitted.
2. may has two may 31 and no may 30.
3. june starts on a thursday, not on a wednesday as shown. 
4. june has 31 days instead 30 because june 4 is shown twice.
5. november has two november 26 and no november 24. 

what kind of schedule is this?!? all mixed up like a dog's breakfast! is this a nice way to treat your citizens? give them a trash schedule with multiple errors in it? it's not nice to mess with your citizens. some of the town's citizens have other more important things to worry about--like jobs, kids, paying bills on time, etc. older citizens have problems remembering important things--like "where are my glasses?", "did I take my medicine today?", doctor appointments, grandchildren's birthdays, etc. does the town really expect its citizens to remember to check with the town's website every week on the night before regular trash pickup day? fat chance! get real, town!

the town is good at not putting out important public information to it's citizens. the town continues to insist on the unreliable "pass-the-word-to-your-neighbors" method of disseminating important public information. on the rare occasions that the town does put out important public information in a timely manner, there's a good chance that there are errors in it. 

so, to all those who may be considering relocating to strasburg, consider yourselves forewarned. you'll never know for sure when your trash is going to be picked up. 

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