Nominate Your Favorite Bright Spot

Planting at Downtown River: Mary Kay Costello, Ron Gottschalk, Rita & Angelo Cellura, Mayor Bobst, Sara Doan, Nancy Sharbaugh, Vicki Foster, Liz Harmath, Abby Marshall, Cindy Bacon, and Gabe and Mel Harmath.

Spring and summer are always busy for the Rocky River Beautification Committee.

Celebrating the warmer weather, the committee recently spruced up the urns in Downtown River. This is the fifth year for the project, which is a delightful partnership with area merchants and property owners. They obtain the plant material and handle weeding and watering over the summer, while committee volunteers spend time digging in the dirt to install the plants.

The Bright Spot program is the highlight of the summer. Everyone enjoys receiving recognition, and this is a chance to acknowledge the time and effort residents put into enhancing their property with quality maintenance and landscaping. Nominations are open, so don’t miss the chance to nominate your favorite yards, both big and small!

Single family homes are the focus of the program. The extensive efforts at other types of residences, churches, and businesses are amazing, but a limited volunteer base curbs the breadth of the program. Teams look at the homes and front yards from the street; they do not go onto private property and hence cannot consider the many side and back yards in our community.

To nominate a residence, please email rrbeautification@yahoo.com by June 9. If you have contact information for the person you are nominating, please share it, but contact information is not required. Abby Marshall is leading the project again this year. To see pictures and lists of past recipients, go to www.rrcity.com/beautification-committee/. Please stop at the committee’s table at River Days on July 9 when we announce the recipients.

One of the committee’s long-term projects is considering ways to upgrade the corner of Hilliard Boulevard and Wagar Road. Different options for both signage and landscaping are slated for consideration this summer. Kathy Bemer is leading the project.