Osos Clean Up Week Sept. 27
Mission Country Disposal will hold its Clean-Up Week from September 27 – October 1 in the Los Osos.
Clean-Up Week is a community service provided free to single-family residential garbage customers. Place your Clean-Up Week garbage on the curb no later than 6 a.m. on your regular garbage collection day. Don’t block your containers; they will still run automated trucks. Customers can set out up to six bags, 32 gallon capacity size, with each bag 75 pounds and under and 4 feet and under in length.
Folks with metal, electrical or bulky items, call their office at 805-543-0875 to schedule pick up. Special pricing for these items are $13.63 each and there is a limit of two like items. Those pickups and prices are valid only during Clean-Up Week. Call no later than Friday, Sept. 24 to schedule the special removal of these items, or they will not be picked up.
Driver Shortage Leads to Change in Transit Services
Students using SLO Transit services should be prepared to experience changes in schedules due to bus driver shortages.
Changes started on Sept. 20 and remain in effect until further notice, SLO Transit will offer modified academic service. Certain routes with low ridership will be suspended, while others will operate early in the morning and late in the evenings to accommodate more riders during the academic school year.
“SLO Transit appreciates our riders for relying on SLO Transit for their transportation needs during the COVID-19 health crisis. It’s been a difficult time,” said Transit Manager Austin O’Dell. “As many transit agencies across the nation, SLO Transit reduced their service to provide transit service to essential workers. SLO Transit is now in the process of ‘reactivating’ service. Due to the national driver shortage, SLO Transit is modifying services offered. As drivers are hired and trained, the SLO Transit will reactivate additional service.”
The transit company encourages passengers to plan ahead and consider taking an earlier bus to avoid overcrowding.
For more information on routes and schedules, contact SLO Transit by phone at (805) 541-2877, by email at slotransit@slocity.org, or online at www.slotransit.org.
A Different kind of Cleanup Week Ends Thursday
ECOSLO’s annual Creeks to Coast Cleanup is SLO County’s largest volunteer event as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day. This local volunteer event is put on in coordination with statewide efforts with the California Coastal Commission and internationally with Ocean Conservancy
This annual volunteer event empowers community members in SLO County to come together to protect waterways, communities, and wildlife. The event runs through Thursday, September 30.
For more information, go to ecoslo.org/creeks-to-coast.
The Shortages Continue with Lifeguards
Folks who like to get their swimming in at the SLO Swim Center might have to get a bigger bathtub and do their exercise at home due to a lifeguard shortage that is resulting in decreased operational hours through Sunday, Oct. 31. The SLO Swim Center just reopened after it was closed for about one month for maintenance and repairs.
Family recreational swim hours will only be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:50 p.m.; lap swim hours will be limited on most days; open therapy pool hours will be suspended Mondays and Wednesdays; and aqua aerobics classes will be suspended on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All other programs and hours will remain the same.
“We want to offer as many programs to the community as we can, but like other industries across the nation, we have to limit some of our programs and services until we can hire more staff,” said Aquatics Recreation Coordinator Shawn Tucker. “We hope to add programming hours and classes starting in November as lifeguards are hired and trained.”
The SLO Swim Center is currently hiring lifeguard staff. Anyone interested in applying can visit the City of San Luis Obispo’s Job Opening webpage.
The typical fall schedule at the SLO Swim Center offers programming hours Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Programming hours and classes will be reinstated as lifeguards are recruited and trained.
For updates, check www.sloswimcenter.org. For questions about the SLO Swim Center’s schedule, contact Shawn Tucker at 805.781.7291 or stucker@slocity.org.
Poly’s Grant to Serve Local Pre-College Students
Cal Poly’s Educational Talent Search (ETS) program recently received a new five-year federal grant that will serve 500 local junior high and high school students per year.
The federally funded pre-college program supports sixth- through 12th-grade students in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties who want to pursue higher education at a community college or university with counseling, as well as information about college admission requirements, scholarships, college entrance exams, and more.
All told, the five-year grant will award $277,375 to the program on an annual basis through 2026.
“I’m continually amazed at the selfless work of our program staff to help local students achieve their dream of going to college,” said Keith Humphrey, Cal Poly’s vice-president for student affairs. “This new five-year grant is proof of their dedication to support these students and validates our collective commitment to social justice, diversity and equity. I’m thrilled that we will be able to positively impact even more students in the years to come.”
The program offers a wide variety of educational resources for local students and families, including workshops and counseling on testing, course requirements, majors careers and applications.
Additionally, the program hosts field trips to visit California universities throughout the academic year. This includes California State University and University of California campuses, private institutions, and community colleges. All services provided by ETS are free to participating students.
For more information on Educational Talent Search, go to ets.calpoly.edu.
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