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<p>LUZERNE &#8212; A popular fishing and recreation area in Luzerne is getting a face lift, thanks to the borough&#8217;s Merchants Association.</p><p>Gathered at the banks of Toby&#8217;s Creek behind Luzerne Bank, about a dozen volunteers grabbed gloves, rakes and garbage bags from a plastic tub as they continued on their mission to beautify the area. Sunday marked the second time the group would come out to clear weeds, pick up trash and prepare the land for new grass and flowers, picnic tables and more.</p><p>&#8220;We have one of the only natural resources that is accessible from a town or borough,&#8221; said association president and Main Optical owner Jeff Mullen, who spearheaded the project. &#8220;So we want to take advantage of that.&#8221;</p><p>Mullen explained that the group is working with organizations such as Trout Unlimited and the state Department of Environmental Protection to make the area inhabitable for its native species, creating a safe environment that can be utilized for a variety of activities.</p><p>&#8220;If people just want to take lunch, or are taking a break from their daily routine, they can come down and enjoy the environment,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Armed with a machete and a smile, Dan McGrogan began chopping down a plot of Japanese knotweed before moving across the water to pick up garbage and cut overgrowth along the creek&#8217;s retaining wall. The Nucleus Raw Foods owner said Toby&#8217;s Creek provides a serene area to the public that&#8217;s becoming harder and harder to find as development and urban sprawl continue.</p><p>&#8220;I love coming down to this creek. I live in Luzerne and I just see the therapeutic value for people,&#8221; he said of why he decided to get involved in the project. &#8220;Just to hear the sound of water is so special, and it&#8217;s so relaxing and it has a soothing effect for people.&#8221;</p><p>McGrogan said that many of the borough&#8217;s small business owners have been pushing to clean up the area, and their hopes became a reality when the first cleanup event took place last month. But, McGrogan admitted, the project will take some perseverance, as the type of weed that&#8217;s growing in the area has deep-seeded roots.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an invasive weed that basically destroys the ecosystem,&#8221; he said of the Japanese knotweed, which has taken over a large portion of the area.</p><p>As the volunteers began pulling, raking and shoveling, Mullen emerged riding a Bobcat excavator to help expedite the process. After finding level ground, he quickly started working the levers inside the machine to start ripping out the weeds. After most of the topsoil was turned over and rocks removed, Mullen proceeded to dig a deep hole to throw the pulled plants in.</p><p>Standing next to the hole, Kingston resident Don DeMarco put down his cane. Bending over to the ground, DeMarco grabbed a large piece of root, slowly twisting and pulling it until it released from the ground.</p><p>&#8220;These trees have been here so long that the roots are just all over the place,&#8221; he said as he threw the root onto a pile.</p><p>Although he&#8217;s no longer a resident of the borough, DeMarco said he grew up in Luzerne, spending much of his childhood playing alongside the creek. Today, the area still holds a special place in his heart &#8212; so much so that he visits on a daily basis to pick up trash and other debris left behind by inconsiderate passersby.</p><p>&#8220;I just hate the mess,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m disgusted by what people will leave behind.&#8221;</p><p>While he admitted that he isn&#8217;t much help when it comes to physical labor, DeMarco said he wanted to come and give moral support to the volunteers, and let them know that people of the community are appreciative of what the group is attempting to do.</p><p>Bicycling through the Back Mountain Trail that runs along Toby&#8217;s Creek, Joshua Farrow took a short break to see what was happening to the area. As an avid biker who uses the trail frequently, Farrow said he was pleased to see the work being done and asked how he could donate to the cause.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll come by here and I&#8217;ll see some people just making their way through the weeds to see the creek,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What I see going on here right now looks like it&#8217;ll make it a lot more inviting to everybody &#8212; a nice, safe area for everybody to enjoy the stream.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Volunteers enjoy some coffee and doughnuts from the Luzerne Merchants Association before beginning their work to clean and clear up the area along Toby&#8217;s Creek on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clenup-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Volunteers enjoy some coffee and doughnuts from the Luzerne Merchants Association before beginning their work to clean and clear up the area along Toby&#8217;s Creek on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clenup-3-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Volunteers work to clear overgrowth from along Toby&#8217;s Creek. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clenup-3-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Volunteers work to clear overgrowth from along Toby&#8217;s Creek. </caption1><photoCredit1>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clenup-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Luzerne Merchants Association sponsored a clean up Sunday. The group is working on a project to open up a section of Toby&#8217;s Creek to the community by clearing out knotweed and picking up debris. Mark Lewandoski, Dallas, worked to pull out the weeds by their roots. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clenup-4.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Luzerne Merchants Association sponsored a clean up Sunday. The group is working on a project to open up a section of Toby&#8217;s Creek to the community by clearing out knotweed and picking up debris. Mark Lewandoski, Dallas, worked to pull out the weeds by their roots. </caption2><photoCredit2>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clean-up-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Don DeMarco, left, of Kingston, and Dan McGrogan, of Luzerne, clean up debris from along Toby&#8217;s Creek in Luzerne on Sunday as part of a community iniatiative by the Luzerne Merchants Association to beautify the area. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_TTL-07242017-clean-up-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Don DeMarco, left, of Kingston, and Dan McGrogan, of Luzerne, clean up debris from along Toby&#8217;s Creek in Luzerne on Sunday as part of a community iniatiative by the Luzerne Merchants Association to beautify the area. </caption3><photoCredit3>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>LEARN MORE</p><p>Another cleanup day at Toby&#8217;s Creek will be planned in the coming weeks. To learn more about the project or to get involved, visit the <a href="http://tlgets.me/kuk" target="_blank">Luzerne Merchants Association Facebook page</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Toby’s Creek gets a face lift via Luzerne Merchants Association project