麻豆传媒AV

ESTEVAN — The city of Estevan has won the resurrected Golden Garbage Can competition over Weyburn.

Estevan edged Weyburn 39.6-37.25 in the clean-up contest between the two cities. Judges toured the two cities June 9, starting in Estevan and finishing in Weyburn. Results were then announced at Weyburn city hall.

"We took a little bit of a different approach this year. We had two vehicles, one with Team Estevan and one with Team Weyburn," said Walliser. "And we called each other and gave a play-by-play tour of our cities. And what both of us found is that not only did the other community learn new things that they wanted to come back and share with others, but even people in their own communities learned something and had a little more civic pride at the end of the day."

The judges gave lots of feedback on how Estevan designs its park and the way Weyburn's urban forestry works, she said.

"It was seeing the bright side for a change rather than looking for those problems that need to be fixed," said Walliser.

The trophy was proudly placed in Estevan city council chambers during the June 9 meeting. Weyburn now has possession of the silver rake.

Walliser admits she underestimated how much it mean to Estevan to bring back the competition.

"I fielded lots of phone calls last night from people telling me their street was ready, or that their street was not ready, and that I should strategically plan the route," Walliser said. "Lots of people that used to call Estevan home reached out to say just how much they enjoyed it when they were a kid, getting ready for the competition."

The competition offered some fun, too. The two communities exchanged banter on social media leading up to the judging. During the tours, the Estevan contingent reminded Team Weyburn about seeing a discarded mattress, and Walliser said Team Estevan stressed there wasn't "a speck of garbage" during the tour.

Both cities emphasized the amenities that surround the communities as well. Walliser said the Estevan tour included Woodlawn Regional Park and all of the attractions it has to offer.

The two cities announced earlier this year that the beautification campaign would return. It was last held in 2010.

"The can has been in a prominent place within Weyburn city hall, so we were quite pleased to bring it home this afternoon," Walliser told council.

She thanked everybody who cleaned up their yards and their parks, and the city staff who painted curbs on the roads.

Mayor Tony Sernick thanked Walliser and Weyburn Coun. Kellie Sidloski, who headed up the campaign in that city.

"You guys did a lot of work and a great job," said Sernick, who also thanked the city crews for their efforts.

Walliser said she and Sidloski invested a lot of time learning from their departments and gathering historical points for the tour, so they have already committed to having the competition next year.