Cardboard is stuffed into a bin at one of two Temple recycling drop-off locations, this one behind Gober Party House at the intersection of West Avenue H and South 31st Street. The drop-off sites accept paper, aluminum, cardboard, plastic bottles and glass, Temple Recycling Manager Heather Leedy said during an interview this week. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Heather Leedy is not a fan of plastic grocery bags. They clog recycling machinery and many end up as litter in lakes, streams and around town.

“Machines at recycling plants use belts to move and sort plastic bottles, paper and aluminum,” said Leedy, recycling manager for the city of Temple. “Flexible plastics like grocery bags get hung up on the belts and cause damage. Multimillion dollar machines can be taken out by a single plastic grocery bag.”

Flexible plastics can be recycled, but should be returned to bins at local grocery stores.

“Flexible plastics include more than grocery bags,” Leedy said. “Shrink wrap and the wrappers around cases of water also are flexible plastics. Water bottles can and should be recycled; it’s the flexible plastic that causes problems.”

Leedy recommends a solution for those who don’t want to fool with returning grocery bags to stores.

“It’s best to have reusable shopping bags,” she said. “Some stores — like Natural Grocers — don’t even have plastic grocery bags. You either take your own bag or use a box the store provides.”

“It can be windy in Temple, and plastic bags can end up just about anywhere — in parks, lakes, residential areas,” she said.

“I keep a laundry basket I keep in my trunk. When I shop, I just put the groceries back in the cart, then fill up my laundry basket when I get to the car. When I get home, I take all the groceries inside in a single trip.”

Leedy shared other recycling dos and don’ts during a conversation this week.

“It’s amazing how many lawn bags full of leaves and grass clippings are taken to the curb each week,” she said. “Lawn bags fill up the landfill, and the organic material does not decompose quickly because it’s trapped inside plastic. Instead of bagging grass, leave it in your yard to feed the growing grass or haul it to a compost pile.”

Leedy said she hopes the city expands its composting program in the future to keep bags of grass out of the landfills and to provide nutrients for local community gardens and flower beds.

What can you recycle in residential curbside containers?

“Cardboard, paper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, detergent bottles — these items can be placed in the recycling bins,” Leedy said. “We also accept pizza boxes, but please remove the chunks of cheese before tossing it in a bin.”

One item that cannot be placed in residential recycling bins is glass, but the city maintains two drop off recycling locations that accept glass containers.

“Glass is a great material to recycle because you can always make glass out of glass,” she said. “Plastic can only be recycled two or three times before it breaks down into microplastics.”

Currently, recycling drop-off locations are behind the Gober Party House near the intersection of 31st and Avenue H, and at the old animal shelter on Bullseye Lane, which is in front of the landfill.

In spring 2023, the city expects to open a new $11.2 million solid waste complex on East Avenue H just inside Dodgen Loop, Leedy said. Once that facility opens, the Bullseye Lane recycling drop-off will move to the new center. The drop-off behind Gober will remain open.

“We will still have two drop-offs for recycling, and I’m hoping to open a third drop-off location in West Temple,” she said.

Right now, residential recycling pick up is limited to single-family homes, but Leedy hopes to eventually expand the program to include apartment communities as well.

Leedy also hopes to increase business recycling pickup to include more white paper. Currently, cardboard is the major recycled material from businesses, although several restaurants have requested white-paper pickup for discarded menus.

“Because of COVID, restaurants such as Bird Creek Burgers are printing out disposable menus, and they have requested a white-paper pickup,” she said. “I’d really like to see the city expand its Downtown recycling program.”

The topic of underground trash bins in parts of the city — including Downtown — has been discussed, and some entities in America are using similar underground bins for collecting and storing recyclable materials.

Cities such as Kissimmee and Clearwater, Fla., and the Philadelphia Phillies MLB organization use underground bins for both trash and recyclables.

Leedy said she often visits local schools to discuss the importance of recycling with children. Many schools are recycling in the classroom, and some are even competing to see which class recycles the most materials.

“The kids really get into recycling and protecting the Earth,” she said. “We put out a recycling calendar every year, and the kids submit artwork for each month. Each piece of art is a message about recycling. The calendar itself incorporates more than pictures — it also has a city calendar, brush pickup dates and tips for recycling.”

The 2022 calendar was honored nationally for its outstanding design.

Once a year, the city hosts a household hazardous waste collection day. It’s usually held on the fourth Saturday in October at 3210 E. Avenue H.

“The household hazardous waste collection is open to all Temple residents,” she said. “You can bring in batteries, paint, oils, many chemicals, tires and electronics such as old computers. We can’t take gas though.”

The city also hosts shred events for safely discarding personal papers. Each person can bring in five bankers boxes full of documents. The shredding events are held every spring and fall.

Heather Leedy, Temple’s recycling manager, said this week that she hopes to expand the city’s recycling program and open a new recycling drop-off location in West Temple. She would also like to expand pickup at local businesses and start service at local apartment communities. David Stone photo

Pardubická Muzika, a stellar ensemble of Conservatory of Music players from Pardubice, Czech Republic, will perform at SPJST Lodge 47, Seaton Star Hall, on Wednesday, May 25. Courtesy photo

Czech brass band to play in Seaton

Our Town Temple

Pardubická Muzika will perform at SPJST Lodge 47, Seaton Star Hall, on May 25.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the 7 to 9 p.m. performance. The event will feature traditional Czech brass band music performed by this ensemble of Conservatory of Music players from Pardubice, Czech Republic.

The traditional Czech line-up includes two clarinets, two flugelhorns, two bass flugelhorns, two trumpets, trombone, tuba, drums and two singers.

Brass-band music has a long tradition at the Pardubice Conservatory. It has been a part of the Brass Department for almost as long as the Conservatory has existed, representing it at many events in the region.

In 2012, the Banda di Feste ensemble was founded. In the beginning, it focused exclusively on classical Czech brass music. As time went on, it began to play dance and popular music, so there wasn’t as much room for brass band music in the band’s repertoire anymore. Therefore, Banda di Feste eventually split into two separate ensembles — a big band and a brass band bearing the name of “Pardubická muzika.”

The band also has two amazing singers.

Although the band members are students of classical music, they play brass music with great passion, a sense of style and respect for tradition. The qualities of its members will hopefully help this ambitious band become one of the most prominent ensembles of the Conservatory as well as of the city of Pardubice and the Pardubice Region.

The band is led by Michal Chmelař, the first trumpet of the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also the bandleader of the Křídlovanka brass band, with which he has twice won the European Championship in the interpretation of Czech and Moravian brass music in the category of professional ensembles. His experience and many years of practice guarantee that the brass band will build on the best traditions of brass music in Bohemia.

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Belton church raising money for Ugandan orphanage

Our Town Temple

Belton New Life Fellowship Church and other Central Texas churches and organizations are holding a fundraising barbecue and auction to buy farmland and build an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda.

The fundraiser will held on Saturday, June 11, at VFW Post 4008 in Belton. Chopped beef sandwiches will be available for $8 with takeout starting at 11 a.m. and dine in starting at noon. There will be a live auction at 1 p.m. featuring Jamie Elkins, who is ranked as a Top 25 auctioneer in the US.

Ebenezer Children’s Hope Orphanage in Kampala is home to about 68 orphans. Right now, the kids are sleeping on dirt floors in a building that is in danger of collapsing. Belton New Life has raised $6,500 so far.

For additional information, contact Danny McDonald at (254) 541-1030 or Brenda Ivey at (512) 417-9342.

THURSDAY | MAY 19, 2022

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

today’s best bets

• Trivia Night at Fire Base Brewing Co. with Texas Red. 7 p.m.

• Clay with Lindsay at Cultural Activities Center. Go to cacarts.org to sign up for her classes

• Free dance lessons at Bo’s Barn from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Karaoke from 8:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m

• Lonesome Dove: The Photo Exhibit runs through June 25. The exhibit is a collection of black-and-white framed photos captured by the late Bill Wittliff, renowned photographer, writer, and co-executive producer of the popular Western mini-series.

To include your events in What’s Happening and Today’s Best Bets, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

What outdoor element was Smitty’s restaurant known for? ANSWER AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

On this day in 1910, a 500-pound meteorite fell to earth outside the northeast Texas community of Charleston during the passage of Halley's Comet. Delta County's most publicized event of the decade was not without precedent, however, as more than 230 meteorites have been catalogued in Texas. The earliest written record dates from 1772, when Athanase de Mézières learned of the Texas Iron from Tawakoni Indians near the Brazos River. Considered the largest preserved find from Texas, this 1,635-pound meteorite was venerated by several Indian cultures for its supposed healing powers and is currently housed at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. Other finds in Texas include the 500-foot- diameter Meteor Crater at Odessa, the third largest crater in the United States, and the Peña Blanca Spring meteorite, which plunged into a swimming pool on the Gage Ranch in Brewster County on August 2, 1946.

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On this day in 1836, a large force of Comanche warriors, accompanied by Kiowa and Kichai allies, attacked Parker’s Fort, located on the headwaters of the Navasota River in what is now Limestone County. The fort is located about 75 miles northeast of Temple. During the raid, the Comanches seized five captives, including Cynthia Ann Parker. The other four were eventually released, but Cynthia remained with the Indians for almost 25 years, forgot white ways, and became thoroughly Comanche. She was perhaps the most famous Indian captive in Texas history. Her son, Quanah, became a celebrated Comanche chief.

TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: The big porch swing!