A 12-year-old boy started filling up potholes near his home after an accident that left his mother’s car damaged.
Muskegon Heights has a constant pothole problem, particularly during the winter season. However, when Monte Scott’s mother and grandmother’s cars became damaged after hitting these potholes, he felt he needed to take things into his own hands and fix them himself, according to Detroit Free Press.
The 12-year-old was spotted in a video filling the potholes near his home with a shovel and a garbage can of dirt from his backyard. Scott was seen patting down the pothole after filling it with dirt. According to him, he didn’t want anyone else to suffer from a damaged car like his mother did.
This is my son fixing the potholes on Maffett street in Muskegon Heights off of Summit. He had a half day of school so he decided to fill the potholes because he doesn’t want his mom and grandma to mess up our cars. I love my son. He has a heart of gold.
Posted by Trinell Renee Payne on Wednesday, March 27, 2019
“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,” said Scott.
According to WZZM, his mother was not aware that her son was filling potholes—he did not tell anyone what he was doing. She only found out what happened after someone sent a video of her son. She said he wanted to fill all the potholes near his home.
“I was at work, and I got a text message from my niece, and she’d seen the video on Facebook,” Trinell Scott said. The Facebook video was posted on March 27, and has been viewed more than 52,000 times.
“This is my son fixing the potholes on Maffett street in Muskegon Heights off of Summit. He had a half day off school so he decided to fill the potholes because he doesn’t want his mom and grandma to mess up our cars. I love my son.”
A woman in the video can be heard saying, “He really got a garbage can filling these potholes. Because his granny drive down this street and they down here.”
The video also showed a passerby who happened to see Monte Scott filling the potholes, saying, “You’re gonna be something too, you’re a hard worker.”
“He just took it upon himself to [fix the road],” Trinell Scott said. “That’s just the type of kid he is. When he sees there’s a problem or a need, and he thinks he can fix it, he’ll try to fix it.”
Twelve-year-old Monte Scott in Muskegon Heights, Michigan has gone viral after video captured him addressing his city's…
Posted by The Hill on Monday, April 1, 2019
Monte Scott filled 15 potholes and planned to fill the rest in his neighborhood in order to help the community.
Trinell Scott said her son was a great kid, much like a lot of the other kids in the neighborhood. In her post on Facebook she wrote, “He has a heart of gold.”
“Now people see that we in Muskegon Heights … do produce good kids,” Trinell Scott said. “Everything is not bad out of Muskegon Heights.”
Many people who saw the video were very moved by his actions, even the Muskegon Heights Mayor Kimberley Sims.
However, she said there was very little she could do to resolve the problem. It was unfortunate that the potholes had gotten so bad that a 12-year-old felt he had to fill them on his own.
“We have a constant issue of potholes,” Sims said. She added that the crew that works on potholes was limited in number, and despite working every day, the effect of winter had made it very hard to fix the issue.
“I commend this young man’s efforts,” Sims said. “He’s 12, he should be getting ready for school the next day, or playing video games.” She added that his behavior was a true testament of his love for the community as well as his family.
According to Detroit Free Press, Sims said the city passed its first street millage a couple of years ago and managed to improve the condition of the roads, but their funding system was pretty much broken.
Sims said if the city could improve its policies, then children wouldn’t have to worry about filling potholes or city improvement.
