The start of a new month brings the start of a new District Clean Up Month. June’s designated district is District 1 and Councilman Charlie Dunn said he hoped to keep the good reputation of District 1 in tact with his constituents cleaning efforts.

While other districts find dilapidated houses, abandoned vehicles or clogged sewers issues of concern, Dunn said for District 1 there weren’t too many dilapidated houses left in his district.

“We had a lot of dilapidated houses in my district and we have torn those down,” Dunn said. “People who were having parties and throwing stuff down, since we’ve eliminated those it’s cut down on it.The ones that were in District 1, they were cleaned up were seven or eight years ago.”

Dunn said there were still a few left, but he also said he had a plan for the ones still standing.

“The few that we have left, we’re still working on them,” Dunn said. “When you have an old building and no one is living in it, it invites any kind of situations.”

Dunn said he used to get out more and pick up trash when he could, but even though he wasn’t able to as much, Dunn said there are still good people in District 1 who take it upon themselves to pitch in.

“I used to get out and do a bit of it myself, but I haven’t had a chance to do it lately,” Dunn said. “But, there is a gentleman who lives out in Banks and sometimes he cleans up and down Butter and Egg road all the way to Banks.”

Dunn said that learning the importance of being clean and not littering can be instilled at a very young age and encouraged the parents and mentors of his district to come together and provide good examples for his younger constituents.

“I want them, especially the parents, to teach their children not to throw out litter,” Dunn said. “Most of the time, the ones that throw it out aren’t the ones who pick it up. Environmental services are the ones who generally come out and pick it up. If you can catch them throwing it out and make them pick it up.”

In Dunn’s 10 years on Troy City Council he said the cleaning efforts for the city of Troy had near doubled and a lot of the efforts were made with the start of the Keep Troy Beautiful campaign.

“It’s been a big issue, but it’s getting better,” Dunn said. “With the Keep Troy Beautiful campaign, that helped a lot. It’s better than what it once was. There is still room for improvement.”

And, with the room improvement, Dunn said he encouraged people to not only clean up after themselves but to also spread the word to “Keep Troy Beautiful.”

“We’re just trying to get the word out that they’re making the city look bad by throwing trash out,” Dunn said. “Take a little more pride in your district and your city. You can always find a receptacle to put trash in. Keep it in your car until you get somewhere you can put it in the garbage can not just throw it out.”