Goni Canyon cleanup a neighborhood affair

In the seven-year history of the Goni Canyon Preservation League's annual spring cleanup day, some interesting, if not revealing items, have been collected from the North Carson canyon's hillsides and ravines.

Mattresses, meth-making equipment, plenty of shotgun shells, empty bottles, car parts, refrigerators, ovens and ripped pairs of jeans - all fodder for the Dumpster bin along the neighborhood roadside, according to organizers.

But this year's collection, which the league hosted Saturday morning, may have trumped them all as some 42 residents of the area subdivision marveled as a backhoe, donated for the day, pulled a car from a ravine just a stone's throw from some of the homes nearby.

"This car isn't in that bad a shape either," said the league's president, Tom Gray as he examined what appeared to be a gold Mazda sedan. "I was running up here and saw that someone was living in it - or at least trying to.

"I called 911 and I guess the person is gone. Well, now the car's going to be gone too."

Gray's wife, Lynn Zonge, said the day the neighborhood group gets out and cleans the hillside is "one of the best of the year."

"I think everyone who lives around here watches out for one another," she said. "And, this is something to note, I think every year we've done this - we've found less and less trash.

"So, that right there - it says something."

Some residents admitted they had some big hauls Saturday, big, and "unusual."

"Oh my - I've found a ton of stuff," said the league's secretary Debbie Foster.

"I've found water bottles, Levis that look like they were (stolen), an empty bottle of Boon's Hill Farm Watermelon (wine) and, well - this is kind of sad - a couple dog bowls and a leash.

"I hope someone didn't just leave their dog here and expect it to be OK."

Scofflaws frequent the Goni area, which the league members estimate is more than 1,000 acres.

"It's important to note that we've caught people (illegally) dumping and successfully prosecuted," said Trisha Lincoln, married into a family of do-gooders, as she claimed her husband was Abe Lincoln's sixth cousin. "Seriously though, we do have an active Neighborhood Watch. We do notice when people come here to dump their things."

"We notice," said Zonge. "...And we will hunt you down."

The neighborhood group was deeded some 28 acres near the homes from erstwhile land-holder Bill Goni, said 20-year subdivision resident Janie Ware.

"I actually used to be his bank teller," Ware said. "He raised his sheep out here. What a nice, nice man.

"He gave the (neighborhood league) some of this land to take care of - and that's what we're out here doing."

The boundaries of what area custodians sought to clean Saturday stretched beyond the neighborhood's borders, Zonge said.

"We've got city lands, county lands, BLM lands up here," she said. "You name it ... but we're trying to keep it all clean. How's that for a little civic involvement?"

• Contact Andrew Pridgen at apridgen@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.