SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -- This year a town is looking cleaner. This is thanks to a city-wide cleanup event that took place for the entire month of July in Sullivan county.
This year Sullivan county had a month-long cleanup event that was free for residents.
Over the last 8 years, the city of Sullivan has been dedicated to cleaning up its city. The city has a motto which is 'taking time to care.'
Over 304 cars participated in this year's month-long event. More than 4.2 tons of trash was collected, and that equals 84,000 pounds. Mayor of Sullivan Clint Lamb hopes this will bring more residents to Sullivan.
Mayor Lamb was very impressed with this year's turn out, but he says there is still more to do.
Lamb says, “it has so much more to do than the city-wide cleanup, it’s just another piece of the puzzle where we continue to move forward in the community, and cleanliness is a big part of that.”
He says over the past three years there has been a small uptick in residents moving in.
He says while the rest of the rural United States is experiencing people moving out, that is not the same for Sullivan.
Lamb says while their numbers have been decreasing over 40 years, the last three years they have seen an increase. The increase may be small, but it helps the city population numbers. Lamb got these numbers from the United States Census Bureau.
He says cleaning the city is just one thing to help increase the population in Sullivan. He says, “Part of that really has to do with the cleanliness and truly living by the cities motto ‘taking time to care.’”
Mayor Lamb is formulating a plan to try and have this year's month-long clean up be an annual event. He says they are still trying to figure out what will e put in place for next year's event, but he is hopeful of having the same one.
