Rural trash pickups safe for now

One year ago, city of Walhalla trash pickups in parts of the un-incorporated areas beyond the city limits appeared to be in jeopardy.  Fresh off winning a four-way race for office, Mayor Danny Edwards signaled that he wanted an evaluation of how much the pickups were costing the city versus charges for the service.  According to the mayor, the city was finding it hard to keep drivers with commercial licenses.  A year later, however, city administrator Brent Taylor says, “We have looked at it.  Most of the pick-up is in clusters, so it appears to be economical.  There is no talk of discontinuing it at this time,” Taylor says.  As many as 800 customers are believed to be benefitting from rural pickups by the Walhalla Public Works Department.