Council gives Glendale trash truck driver commendation for going the extra mile
On the eve of every trash day, most Glendale residents wheel out their receptacles to the curb for pickup, but there are some who physically might not be up to the weekly task.
For those individuals, local trash truck driver Ronny Valtierra takes the extra step of taking their trash bins back and forth, which his job doesn’t require him to do.
It’s something he said he’s being doing for years, and it didn’t catch anyone’s attention until the daughter of an elderly resident wised up to Valtierra’s good citizenry.
Every week, Valtierra has been bringing out the trash bin of an elderly man who lives on San Luis Rey Drive and returning it by pushing it back up a steep hill.
“It’s not a problem, I feel like it’s basically part of my job,” he said. “I don’t mind helping.”
It all started when Valtierra saw the man, who reportedly has some health issues, struggling with his three trash bins.
After the man’s daughter saw Valtierra pushing a trash can back and forth, she called the city’s Public Works Department and commended him for going above and beyond.
That praise earned him a commendation from the City Council on Tuesday as well as a personal thumbs up from his boss, Public Works Director Roubik Golanian.
“Ronny is a shining example of the dedicated employees we have in our department and throughout the city,” Golanian told council members.
Upon receiving his commendation, Valtierra posed for a picture with council members, who thanked him for his service.
“This is what Glendale is all about,” said Councilwoman Laura Friedman.
Valtierra moved to Glendale in his childhood. His first job also entailed making many stops throughout the city as a paperboy on a bicycle.
Now a driver for 26 years, he said the reason for his recognition was just one of several examples throughout his career of helping out elderly residents with their trash. And it’s not something that’s just unique to him.
“We take it upon ourselves to help them out,” Valtierra said.
But there is one additional benefit he gets out of it, especially when a residence has trash, recycling and green-waste bins.
“I basically go up and down three times, I’m getting a lot of exercise,” Valtierra said.
--
Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
