STARKVILLE — Some of Starkville’s most essential workers got a break from the cold Wednesday thanks to a lunch honoring their service and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated while helping Memphis’ garbage collectors fight for better treatment.
It’s the seventh straight year that Kayla Gilmore has organized a lunch shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. Day honoring Starkville’s sanitation workers, with help from both city government and a range of private sponsors. Today the owner of KMG Creations, Gilmore once worked in the Sanitation and Environmental Services Department as an administrative assistant.
“I fell in love with the job, and I began to do more and more research,” she said. “Especially pertaining to Dr. Martin Luther King and how he played a significant role in getting sanitation workers safety in the workplace. … They’re out every day, and they’re well appreciated.”
A few dozen workers from the sanitation department, ranging from garbage collectors to street sweepers to managers, attended the event Wednesday, where they heard appreciation from local political representatives, got gift bags and ate a free lunch.
“Events like these do help, because not everybody gets to tell us (thank you),” said D.J. Howard, a streetsweeper who’s been with the department for a year. “I know it helps me. A lot of our work sometimes we think goes unnoticed, but it doesn’t. We see that now. They show us that it’s not going unnoticed.”
Officials in attendance included Mayor Lynn Spruill, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn, Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland and District 1 Oktibbeha County Supervisor Ben Carver, a former alderman.
“This is our city. We live here together, and you clean it,” Perkins told the workers. “You’re out there in rainstorms, sleet, snow, ice, arctic blasts, tornado warnings and tornado watches with no frowns on your faces. … Your job is very important. And you are important. Never think any less of yourself.”
Several sanitation workers interviewed by The Dispatch expressed their gratitude for the event, though many said their work gets recognized in Starkville in smaller ways throughout the rest of the year by citizens they help.
“It can be horrendous and difficult to deal with, the amount of garbage and trash,” said Alex Bishop, who has been a garbage collector for seven months. “We really appreciate people showing their appreciation.”
The main obstacle they face now is the cold weather, with the National Weather Service predicting sub-freezing lows through Saturday night. The sanitation department has been distributing hand warmers to keep its workers safe from the chill, and some said they had figured out tricks like using the truck’s exhaust pipe to keep warm.
Mostly, however, they said the sanitation department is well equipped to deal with the weather, and if people want to help show their appreciation and make their job easier the best way to do that is to make sure all their trash is securely in the trash bag and out on the street in time for pickup.
“Just put your trash in the trash bag,” Bishop said. “That’s pretty much all. It can be a headache when it’s really cold out, because if there’s precipitation and loose trash it freezes to the bottom of the trash can.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
