Just when you begin to think that people no longer care about each other and that no one goes the extra mile anymore, you are, to your own delight, proved incorrect.
That’s what happened on my street last week. I live in a neighborhood with lots of big, old trees that constantly drop limbs. The sound of chainsaws isn’t all that uncommon, except at 11 p.m. I looked outside to find a fallen branch blocking the street, a city of Garland truck and a man, obviously a city employee, clearing the street.
I watched from the window until the street was cleared and the broken branch was back in the yard from which it fell. I assumed that was the end of the incident and that the homeowner would spend the next day cleaning up the mess or paying a contractor to do it.
So, what happened next was a testament to the quality of the folks who work for the city of Garland.
Instead of loading up the saw and leaving, the employee proceeded to cut up many of the larger limbs and place them on the parkway. The branch that had broken and fallen into the street was still attached to the tree so he also got it all the way down, cut it up and took it to the parkway, despite the oppressive heat and humidity. Just a small amount of work was left for the homeowner for the next morning.
Mayor Scott LeMay is proud and grateful that Garland has this kind of employees.
“We have some of the hardest working, most dedicated employees in the metroplex,” said LeMay. “As we have said many times, we have less employees per capita than other cities our size. So, what that means is they do more work for our citizens than the employees for surrounding cities.”
LeMay added that our city employees go above and beyond all the time.
“Yes, you can say it’s their job to take care of these issues and I applaud them for it. I say they take the extra steps because they care and I appreciate them for it.”
So, a big thank you to Garland’s Street Department and employee Jon Coats, who went above and beyond to help a citizen.
The mayor added that he would be seeking Coats out to thank him personally.