No public hearings or city/town council meetings are scheduled this week in Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Radford. That leaves more time for decluttering the home and sprucing up the yard and neighborhood.
Tuesday: Shred-a-thon in Christiansburg, plus what to keep and what to shred
On Tuesday from 3-6 p.m., Christiansburg Parks and Recreation will host its annual, drive-through Shred-a-thon at the Christiansburg Huckleberry Park. Per vehicle, the shredding limit is three boxes or plastic totes no larger than 22.5 by 11.5 inches.
According to the event webpage, shredding unwanted documents helps protect identifying information and prevent identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission recommends the following timeline for shredding certain documents:
- Shred immediately: sales receipts, ATM receipts, paid credit card statements, paid utility bills, credit offers, cancelled checks that are not tax-related, expired warranties.
- Shred with one year: pay stubs, bank statements, paid medical bills that are undisputed.
- Shred after seven years: tax-related receipts, tax-related cancelled checks, W-2s, records for tax deductions taken.
- Various:
- auto titles: keep as long as you own the vehicle,
- home deeds: keep as long as you own the property,
- disputed medical bills: keep until the issue is resolved,
- home improvement receipts: keep until you sell your home and pay any capital gains taxes.
- Keep forever in a locked location: birth certificates, Social Security cards, marriage or divorce decrees, citizenship papers, adoption papers, death certificates, tax returns.
The Christiansburg Shred-a-thon is a drive-through event. Participants should stay in their car in the line of vehicles.
Items that cannot be shredded include metal, three-ring binders, composition notebooks, hanging file folders, paint brushes, padlocks, hardback books, keys, eyeglasses and bungee cords.
Christiansburg Huckleberry Park is at 300 Huckleberry Park Drive N.W. For more information, contact Tammy Caldwell at 540-382-2349, ext. 2003, or tcaldwell@christiansburg.org.
Thursday-Saturday: Hahn Horticulture Garden Plant Sale
This week the Hahn Horticulture Garden in Blacksburg will host a three-day plant sale of over 4,000 houseplants, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, shrubs and trees.
“We have a lot of regionally native and unique cultivars of plants that you can’t find at Home Depot or Lowe’s. And you are purchasing plants from Virginia nurseries and plants grown by Virginia Tech students,” wrote Hahn Garden horticulturist Brittany Christensen in an email on Wednesday. For example, there will be plants for sale that were grown by a horticulture and agricultural technology classes at Virginia Tech.
According to Christensen, revenue generated from tree and shrub sales goes to the Hahn Garden’s operational fund, while revenue from annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables supports the Horticulture Club’s activities and outreach. “By buying a plant at the sale, you are supporting the growth of the Hahn Garden,” Christensen wrote.
Christensen expects the sale to attract hundreds of shoppers. Many of the parking lots along Garden Lane will be reserved and free for plant sale customers. Parking attendants will direct traffic.
Virginia Tech horticulture faculty established Hahn Horticulture Garden in 1984. Today, the garden covers six acres and “serves students and the local community as a learning resource for plant material, landscaping concepts and environmental awareness,” according to the website.
The plant sale will be Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
The Hahn Horticulture Garden is at 200 Garden Lane in Blacksburg.
April curbside collections of debris and brush: Blacksburg and Christiansburg offer free spring cleanup service
Blacksburg residents must place debris and brush curbside by 7 a.m. on the Monday of their scheduled collection. The collection schedule is based on quadrants with one week of collection for each quadrant in April. Materials must be placed into distinct piles of brush, metal appliances, tires, and other miscellaneous debris. Visit the brush collection page for more guidelines on brush and the Spring Cleanup page for the quadrant schedule.
Christiansburg residents must place debris and brush within 10 feet of the street pavement between April 13-24. Over that two-week period, items will be collected on regular trash pick-up day. Materials should be placed in distinct piles at least three feet from any objects including garbage cans and recycling containers. Loose materials must be placed in containers that are 32 gallons or less. Visit the Spring Cleanup FAQs page for more guidelines.
Radford offers special collection pick-ups for a fee. To schedule a special collection of yard waste, debris, appliances or furniture, contact the Utility Billing Office at 540-731-3602.
