Springfi eld police offi cer Tami Walcher saw a problem last year and decided to fi x it. Walcher is the beat offi cer for Beat 500, which covers the area south of South Grand Avenue between Chatham Road and 11th Street, extending south to encompass Lake Springfi eld. During her patrols, she began talking to a panhandler at the Toronto Road exit off I-55, and they eventually reached an agreement that he would pick up trash in the area and bag it up for her to throw away. Walcher says she also noticed a discouraging amount of trash on the ground along MacArthur Boulevard, so she asked people who panhandle there to also pick up trash. She purchased tackle boxes, put trash bags inside the boxes and placed them in strategic locations. Members of the MacArthur Boulevard Association now help Walcher by picking up the bags of trash prepared by the panhandlers. She notes that Springfi eld police and panhandlers are at a détente because of the pending lawsuit over the city’s panhandling ordinance, so they might as well work together. Walcher, who celebrates her 10-year anniversary with the Springfi eld Police Department on March 20, says that “Every little thing we do can make an improvement.”