Walters keeps Fillmore clean

Banner Graphic/Sabrina Westfall Carl Walters makes his way through Fillmore almost every day with a five-gallon bucket in hand to keep the streets of the small town clean. The town council recently thanked him, but he did not think anyone noticed.

FILLMORE -- Members of the Fillmore Town Council said they wish more people could be like resident Carl Walters.

Almost every day, weather dependent, Walters starts down East Street toward the Town Hall in Fillmore with a bucket and an extended plastic claw to take his walk. What started out as a way to exercise has turned into an effort to make the town cleaner.

Walters, 71, retired from Yellow Freight eight years ago, and needed to find a new way to bide his time.

"I don't like just sitting, so I started to walk. I decided if I was going to walk I might as well do something else, too. I started picking up trash," Walters said.

In just a few miles a day, Walters said he can fill up the green five-gallon bucket three to six times. A neighbor allows him to dump the trash so he can continue his rounds down by the Cemetery Road.

The Fillmore Town Council sent him a card, thanking him for his dedication to the town. Walters said he did not realize people even noticed him making his way through town.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal, but I guess a lot of people like it," Walters said. "I've had several people stop me and thank me. I had a lady at the store stop me today. She thought I was on the town board."

Walters said it surprises him how much trash can accumulate between the day or two before his next trip around.

"I don't understand people. The Lord gives us a beautiful planet and they just trash it," Walters said. "When I drive other places I see trash all over the road, and I tell my wife we should go there and pick up trash."

His wife, Margaret, has also picked up the habit during her walks to the store a few blocks away.

Walters is no stranger in the neighborhood. He has become the community grandpa figure. With a pop machine posted outside of his garage for members of the community to stop and grab a pop for just 60 cents, Walters said he gets to chat with quite a few people.

Town councilman Curt Leonard said he wishes there could be more people like Walters in the community.

"It's like having your grandpa right next door," Leonard said.

Leonard said staying active is keeping him young, and plans for many more years of keeping the town clean. He noted if more people would take a second to pick up the trash they see or not toss items out the window, the cleanliness would last a lot longer.

"The bad thing is when people are mowing they won't stop and pick trash up. They'll just mow over it and then you've got more trash," Walters said.