Summer Weekends start with birds chirping and the gentle hum of that one neighbor mowing his lawn at the crack of dawn. Do you know the one thing I can guarantee about the guy who is mowing his lawn at 7am? He's making sure his grass clippings are not blown into the street. He might be an early riser, but he's not a jerk.
The village crew has been out digging out the storm drains the last couple weeks. Some of that is just seasonal maintenance, but some of it is grass clippings clogging up the drains. The clogged drains can cause flooding. And yes, we're aware that maybe if it would stop raining longer than a day in Andover that might help with the flooding issues too. However, it appears Someone keeps praying for rain and we've not figured out who just yet. It is being investigated.
Not only is mowing your grass into the street, like a jerk, not great for the village infrastructure it is also dangerous for motorcyclists. You could kill or seriously injure someone. Sit with that one for a minute. If potentially injuring your neighbors isn't enough of a deterrent and you're still feeling that itch to mow your grass clippings into the street you should also know that it is a finable offense. I'm not sure how much the ticket is, but it's probably at least $50 and that is equivalent to 33.33 happy hour beers on $1.50 brew night at the village pub.
If some clippings do end up in the street inadvertently and you're worried you might now look like a jerk, DON'T PANIC. You can still use a leaf blower or push broom to sweep the clippings back into your yard. Everyone will appreciate it and think "Wow that guy really cares about their neighbors, what a standup dude(ette)."
Andover is scheduled to get mostly rain this weekend, which might cut into your lawn mowing plans. Just keep this in mind for the next time your lawn is in need of a trim. If you see grass being mowed into the street feel free to let Chuck at code enforcement or Officer Rumfeld know. You could probably let Mayor Truax know too, I've heard he loves phone calls.
© AndoverExclusive2021