Wayward clippings stick in Iola official’s craw

Carl Slaugh is always eager to see Iolans maintain their lawns.
He’s not as enthusiastic, however, when grass clippings get kicked out into the street.
“Not only does it look bad, but it has a bad effect,” Iola’s city administrator told City Council members Monday.
Those clipping eventually wash into stormwater inlets, which tend to clog and cause flooding during torrential rains, such as the storm that hit Iola early Sunday.
The problem exacerbates in the fall, when others blow their fallen leaves into the street with the assumption the city’s street sweeper will pick up the fallen foliage.
“It doesn’t quite work like that,” Slaugh said, because the city has only one street sweeper, incapable of canvassing all of Iola in one day. “That causes a lot of issues.”
Slaugh encouraged residents who mow their lawns to plan their first few circuits around their yard so the clippings are blown inward.
Councilwoman Nancy Ford agreed.
“It looks terrible” to blow clippings into the street, she said. “It’s just not the best way to mow your yard. Switch it around.”