Elton seeking second Cleanest City title

ELTON - 2018 could be the second year in a row the town here wins the statewide Cleanest City Contest.

After winning last year’s town division of the contest, Elton Mayor Roger Laughlin said he is confident he can rally his town’s residents and get everything tidy by Wednesday, April 4.

Laughlin said Elton won last year because an amazing transformation took place.

“We just got everything very clean and it was just a spotless little town,” he said. “Every lawn was cut and groomed, the hedges were cut and pretty, there was no trash in the street. We went from a mediocre looking little town to a very, very clean one. I was so proud and I’m hoping we can do it again next month.”

To get a lead on the other competing towns this year, town workers are starting each day early to target areas that need the most work, Laughlin said.

“We’re working hard from seven to four every day and we’re probably 60 percent to where we want to be in terms of cleanliness,” he said. “We’ve made most of the progress in the past couple of weeks. We’re doing pretty good, but I think we could do even better now that the weather is getting better.”

Laughlin said Elton residents are just as important as town workers when it comes to this contest.

“I’d just want to call upon the citizens of Elton to help us with the cleanup and to do whatever they can do,” he said. “We need a united front on the part of the citizens and the people I’ve had cleaning. I can really say based on last year that the citizens and the workers of the town got together and made the town the cleanest. I hope we can repeat the results of last year and obtain victory once more.”