A 12-year-old Michigan boy decided to take action and started to fill the potholes that have plagued his neighbourhood street for years, because he “didn’t want people messing up their cars like my mom did.”
Armed with nothing more than a blue Rubbermaid garbage bin and a shovel, Monte Scott started filling the craters on his street last week after getting a half-day at school.
“If somebody were to drive down the street and hit a pothole, and then would have to pay like $600-700 to get their car fixed, they would be mad,” Scott explained to WZZM13 News.
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So, Scott decided to fill the garbage can with dirt from his backyard and drag the bin down his road, filling the potholes one by one.
“The loose stones, I just get some, and put it in a pothole and pat it down, make sure it’s all even,” Scott explained of his method. “Then I get some dirt. Scoop it into the middle and level it out.”
Trinell Scott, the boy’s mother, told the news station her son didn’t tell anyone his plan to fix up his street, and she was unware of his actions until someone posted a short video on social media of her son doing his thing.
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“When he sees there’s a problem or a need, and he thinks he can fix it, he’ll try to fix it,” she told WZZM13 News.
Muskegon Heights Mayor Kimberley Sims told the Detroit Free Press she was impressed with Scott’s initiative, calling it a “true testament” to the boy’s community.
“I commend the young man’s efforts,” Sims told the newspaper. “He’s 12, he should be getting ready for school the next day, or playing video games.”
According to WZZM13 News, Scott had filled 15 potholes on his street and plans to finish filling them all.
Not all 12-year-old heroes wear capes.
WATCH: Frustrated Michigan boy, 12, fixes neighbourhood potholes himself