2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
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Caleb Sommerville/KANSAN
A street sweeper cleans up the garbage left over from the Final Four game on April 5. The moment the Jayhawks defeated the Tarheels 84-66, KU fans ran out of local bars onto Massachusetts street in a massive crowd to celebrate with one another.The aftermath included anything from beer cans to bolts from a pickup truck bed.A handful of Lawrence Parks and Recreation employees helped clean up the many loads of trash on Sunday morning after the game.
Final Four victory leaves trashy aftermath
BY CALEB SOMMERVILLE
csommerville@kansan.com
It was the morning after.
The smell of beer wafted, and a loud roar echoed up and down Massachusetts Street after the Jayhawks beat the Tarheels 84-66 on April 5 at the Final Four game. But the smell came from beer that was spilled all over the street and the loud roar came from a street sweeper.
The huge parade of students and fans left a lot behind. Crystal Miles, the horticulture manager for Lawrence Parks and Recreation, said there was a lot of stuff to pick up.
Twelve Parks and Recreation employees and two Street Department employees cleaned up Mass. Street in three shifts: before the event began, during the celebration and Sunday morning.
The hardest shift came at 6 a.m. on April 6. The crew used leaf blowers and trash grabbers to clean up the mess.
Miles was surprised at the amount of trash.
"It's enormous. I can't even describe it," Miles said.
Miles said the trash was mainly plastic cups, beer cans and beer bottles. She estimated it would take two or three street sweeper loads and a few loads of the trash
truck to clean up all the garbage.
Each street sweeper holds about three to four cubic yards.
Miles said only flower beds were completely destroyed Saturday night. Tulips and daffodils that were planted for spring were trampled.
The strangest thing the crew found were bolts from a pickup truck bed.
Miles said the crew guessed the bed was overloaded and may have been damaged.
Caleb Sommerville/KANSAN
The employees from the Lawrence Parks and Recreation and the Street Department picked up the massive amount of trash left over from the game on April 5. The employees used leaf blowers, trash grabbers and street sweepers to clean up the streets. They estimated it would take several loads for the street sweeper, which holds up to four cubic yards of trash.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN