In regards to the recent Tribune article and blog on garbage piles around Dinkytown ("Dinkytown or Stinkytown? Trash mounds anger residents," Sept. 6) I need to explain a few things.
Dinkytown does not have piles of garbage, and it doesn't stink. We smell more like pizza, burritos, sesame chicken, burgers and fresh-roasted coffee, with a hint of Greek cuisine.
The surrounding neighborhoods do have piles of trash on the boulevards, but they don't stink, either. These are piles of furniture, old rugs, lamps, three-legged poker tables and bookshelves. No stinky food or rotting garbage. Maybe some old smelly socks, but that's it.
This happens every year as thousands of University of Minnesota students move in and out of their apartments over a period of four to five days. The amazing thing about all this is how the Minneapolis trash haulers have the mess removed so quickly! Impressive.
(Have you ever witnessed how fast Hennepin Avenue gets cleaned up after an Aquatennial or Pride Parade?) The article should have impressed upon readers how this temporary situation is quickly and neatly taken care of.
Don't be afraid to come to Dinkytown, we're smelling pretty good.
SKOTT J. JOHNSON; PRESIDENT, DINKYTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
