AHOSKIE – The leaves are falling….the leaves are falling.

And to make matters worse, those leaves are, more often than not, causing major problems.

Ahoskie Public Works Director Kirk Rogers said the problem centers around residents raking leaves into the street gutter.

“If left in the gutter, the leaves will eventually make their way into the town’s storm drains,” Rogers said. “In turn, when it rains, the leaves will clog up the storm drains, which slows down drainage and leads to flooding.”

Rogers said his crew keeps a close check daily on storm drains.

“We try our best to keep the storm drains as clear as possible, but we can clean them out one day and the next day they’re clogged with leaves,” Rogers noted.

In order to alleviate the problem, Rogers asked Ahoskie citizens to rake the leaves to the edge of the curb and not in the gutter. He added there was no need to bag the leaves.

“We can take it from the curbside,” he said.

Additionally, Rogers said that all yard waste n grass clippings, trimmings, limbs and branches n also need to be placed at the curbside. He stressed that limbs and branches need to be cut into lengths of four feet or less.

Town crews use the following schedule to pick-up leaves and yard waste:

Monday and Tuesday on the east side of town (east of the main railroad tracks). All debris needs to be at the curbside no later than 7 a.m. on Mondays.

Thursday and Friday on the west side of town (west of the main tracks). Debris needs to be placed by 7 a.m. on Thursdays.

Rogers added there remains a bit of confusion about bulky items that citizens need to have picked-up. He said the town does not collect furniture, appliances, etc. However, GDS will pick-up those bulky items at no charge. Ahoskie residents need to call, toll-free, 1-877-659-7144 to arrange for pick-up.