‘There are those who do care’
Lab West man dismayed by litter in front of Legion monument gets help from teens
Jim Dobbin of Labrador City was disappointed with what he saw when he arrived at the Royal Canadian Legion in Labrador recently.
Garbage left all over the ground, mostly from fast food places. Ironically, most of it sat between two garbage cans. One of the cans had been tipped over and the contents spewed over the ground.
“It’s not everybody, and most likely a few,” Dobbin said. “I could see that the garbage cans had been well used, so most people are respectful, the few who do this kind of thing make it look bad for everybody.”
Dobbin is asking people who frequent the area to think twice before throwing their garbage out the window. There are several reasons, he explains.
“First of all, the Legion does an immense amount for the community, and for the youth of the community as well, they sponsor sports, scholarships , and support so many local events and organizations,” Dobbin explained. “It’s not fair they should have to be cleaning up other people’s mess.”
And Dobbin most of the garbage the other day was in front of a Legion Memorial to honour those who serve and will continue to serve for their fallen comrades.
He asks people to keep that in mind if they are gathered in the area.
But Dobbin says there was a positive side to this, and he discovered that there are people who do care.
“I started the cleanup, and had to leave, so I intended to return later to finish the job. When I returned two young teenage men had the whole place cleaned up and all the garbage contained. I asked their names and if I could take a photo, but they were shy and were just happy to do a good deed. It’s nice to know that there are those who do care.”
Dobbin said he didn’t speak out to lay blame, but to just gently remind people that littering, no matter where, is not an acceptable thing to do.
Another worker at the Legion told said there’s often litter strewn about when they arrive for work and it has to be cleaned up, but she was quick to add, that she, too, has seen a young person come on their own initiative, and clean up the trash, which reinforces the thoughts of Dobbin, that it’s just a few who are causing the problem but there are those who want to help as well.