Volunteer Dustin Aschinger, center, tosses a bag of trash into a dumpster as his mom, Kristen Aschinger, right, and volunteer Bill Budde look on during an illegal dumping cleanup on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021. The 3-day project was put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. Aschinger and his mom drove an hour from their home in Robertsville to help with the cleanup. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com
Sara Diggins
A group of unidentified men finish up after dumping debris illegally on empty lots in the 1500 block of Lulu Ave. in Wellston on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, which are owned by St. 不良研究所导航网址 County. The area behind Normandy High School is becoming a well-used dumping ground in the neighborhood nicknamed, Lulu Heights. The city seeks buyers for the land to spur development. But St. 不良研究所导航网址 County has no mechanism to sell its holdings to Wellston residents or businesses. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Christian Gooden
Wellston City Council Ward 1 Councilwoman Jacklin Owens picks trash out of the bushes near Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021 as part of a 3-day cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. “I grew up near here,” said Owens. “It used to be families and such, but can you imagine having to breathe all this trash?” Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggind@post-dispatch.com
Sara Diggins
Volunteer Calvin Warren from John Harder & Co. operates heavy equipment to remove the pile of trash seen in his mirror, which was dumped illegally in an empty lot on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood. Volunteers gathered on May 25, 2021 for the first day of a 3-day cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. In the first hour of the cleanup, crews and volunteers removed nearly 24 tons of trash. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com
Sara Diggins
Volunteer Kristen Aschinger picks up a dead animal from a pile of trash on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021 as part of a 3-day illegal dumping cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. Aschinger and her son drove an hour from their home in Robertsville to help with the cleanup. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com
WELLSTON 鈥 As the lunch hour neared, Dustin Aschinger was plucking the last pieces of trash from one of the vacant lots along Lulu Avenue.
He and his mother traveled all the way from Robertsville, about an hour to the west, to volunteer after seeing a local news report about the planned cleanup.
鈥淚 just thought, why not do a random act of kindness,鈥 Aschinger, 24, said.
The former University of Missouri-St. 不良研究所导航网址 student had never noticed the little Wellston neighborhood, known as Lulu Heights. Tucked away off St. Charles Rock Road just west of Normandy High School, it鈥檚 easy to miss. That鈥檚 part of the reason criminals have turned the area into a notorious dumping ground 鈥 it鈥檚 cheaper to discard tires, construction debris and household garbage on the vacant lots of a forgotten neighborhood than to pay landfill fees.
Many of those lots are owned by the government 鈥 specifically, the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. The LCRA owns over 30 parcels in Lulu Heights, property it began assembling to facilitate a redevelopment that stalled over a decade ago when the financial crisis hit.
For 20 years, the county's LCRA has collected land throughout the inner-ring suburb of Wellston. The mayor is fed up.聽
The LCRA, which is staffed by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership and overseen by a board appointed by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County executive, has sat on the land since. Aside from the occasional cleanup every few years, little was done to deter near daily dumping, according to residents.
In January, the Post-Dispatch highlighted the scale of the Lulu Heights dumping in a struggling city where almost half of the 2,000 residents live below the poverty line. Since then, local broadcasters also have highlighted the situation, and the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Council held a hearing with Partnership officials last week.
Late last month, the Partnership scheduled a three-day cleanup of the neighborhood, complete with a skid-loader and an excavator to scoop up junk accumulated over years. By the end of the morning Tuesday, the first day of the cleanup, the heavy equipment and a group of volunteers had removed 24 tons of garbage, said Bill Budde, a Partnership official who oversees the LCRA鈥檚 property holdings. The LCRA budgeted up to $17,000 for the effort.
鈥楢 critical problem鈥
Cleanups in the area have happened before. This time, the Partnership and LCRA officials hope to prevent some future dumping. They鈥檝e installed a police camera monitored by St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Police in an effort to catch dumpers. Wellston Mayor Nate Griffin said his city will block access to Lulu Heights with barriers on North Market Street, the only entrance other than St. Charles Rock Road. And by Thursday, Partnership officials say they will put concrete barriers on many of the lots they own so dumpers can鈥檛 back onto the properties to empty truckloads of debris.
鈥淲e think this is a critical problem, all over the region really, in terms of illegal dumping,鈥 Partnership CEO Rodney Crim said from the neighborhood Tuesday.
Griffin, who had criticized the Partnership for the condition of the property earlier this year, said he was 鈥渆xcited and encouraged鈥 with the new efforts. He thanked both the Partnership and St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Executive Sam Page鈥檚 administration, which earlier this year replaced the LCRA board with all new members, for pushing the cleanup.
鈥楾he way it looks now is totally unacceptable,鈥 Council Chair Rita Heard Days, D-1st District, told partnership officials.
Farrakhan Shegog, a Wellston resident involved in community affairs, was among the volunteers Tuesday. The nonprofit he organized, Young Voices With Action, sent several volunteers to help haul away discarded tires.
鈥淚t was actually good to see St. 不良研究所导航网址 County responding to the pleas of the city government of Wellston,鈥 Shegog said. 鈥淭he city government of Wellston has long been trying to urge and convince the Partnership to clean its own house.鈥
Wellston City Councilwoman Jacklin Owens, who won election in April to represent Lulu Heights鈥 ward, said she had no idea the state of the neighborhood when she came to knock on doors earlier this year.
鈥淚 was traumatized by what I saw, because I had never seen it,鈥 she said. 鈥淟ulu Heights is a place where people live and reside.鈥
She said about 15 or 20 homes remain occupied in the neighborhood, and she鈥檚 excited to see a cleanup.
鈥淚t brings the community back together,鈥 Owens said.
The small municipality is directing the county LCRA to submit plans by March or lose its authority to operate within the city.
Volunteer Dustin Aschinger, center, tosses a bag of trash into a dumpster as his mom, Kristen Aschinger, right, and volunteer Bill Budde look on during an illegal dumping cleanup on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021. The 3-day project was put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. Aschinger and his mom drove an hour from their home in Robertsville to help with the cleanup. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com
A group of unidentified men finish up after dumping debris illegally on empty lots in the 1500 block of Lulu Ave. in Wellston on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, which are owned by St. 不良研究所导航网址 County. The area behind Normandy High School is becoming a well-used dumping ground in the neighborhood nicknamed, Lulu Heights. The city seeks buyers for the land to spur development. But St. 不良研究所导航网址 County has no mechanism to sell its holdings to Wellston residents or businesses. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Wellston City Council Ward 1 Councilwoman Jacklin Owens picks trash out of the bushes near Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021 as part of a 3-day cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. “I grew up near here,” said Owens. “It used to be families and such, but can you imagine having to breathe all this trash?” Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggind@post-dispatch.com
Volunteer Calvin Warren from John Harder & Co. operates heavy equipment to remove the pile of trash seen in his mirror, which was dumped illegally in an empty lot on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood. Volunteers gathered on May 25, 2021 for the first day of a 3-day cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. In the first hour of the cleanup, crews and volunteers removed nearly 24 tons of trash. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com
Volunteer Kristen Aschinger picks up a dead animal from a pile of trash on Lulu Avenue in the Lulu Heights neighborhood on May 25, 2021 as part of a 3-day illegal dumping cleanup project put on by the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and St. 不良研究所导航网址 Economic Development Partnership. Aschinger and her son drove an hour from their home in Robertsville to help with the cleanup. Photo by Sara Diggins, sdiggins@post-dispatch.com