Sunday, county council candidate Jon Fussle is hosting a “Countywide Clean-Up.” The clean-up begins at various locations throughout the county at 11 a.m. and continues until 5 p.m. Fussle acknowledges that the clean-up is a political stunt, designed to draw attention, but not to himself. He argues that Kosciusko County is facing some tough problems and difficult decisions, and he wants to use his position as a candidate to make a lasting difference. “Some may see this as a way to draw attention to the campaign, when in reality I’m using the campaign to draw attention to our litter problem. Honestly, I don’t care which way it is perceived as long as we as a community start a tradition of spending a few hours a week cleaning up the mess we’ve created of our land,” Fussle says. “I like calling it ‘clean politics’,” said his wife, Katye. “We’re using the game of politics to clean up our community rather than personal or political gain.” Fussle hopes to use his position as councilman to be an advocate for the county. “My vision of leadership in Kosciusko County is more than sitting in a meeting once a month. It means stepping out and doing what you hope and expect others will do as well,” said Fussle. “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve had for this vision.” “We need about 25 volunteers to help us, as well as leaders for each station. This is going to be a good time. We’ve got high-visibility t-shirts, signs, gloves and grabbers that have been donated by Tractor Supply Company and the Kosciusko County Recycling Depot. I’m personally going to buy each team pizza and drinks.” Volunteers who are interested in participating are encouraged to contact Jon on his personal cell phone at 574-904-1256 or via e-mail at [email protected] The event has scheduled stations online at www.JonFussle.com under “Campaign Calender”, where you can join the clean-up effort. Start times and locations are as follows: – Etna Green & Atwood meet at Etna Green Cafe at 10:30 a.m. – Silver Lake & Claypool meet at Lake City Bank in Silver Lake at 10:30 a.m. – Mentone, Burket & Palestine meet at Bell Memorial Library in Mentone at 10:30 a.m. – Warsaw & Winona Lake meet at Marsh Supermarket in Warsaw at 10:30 a.m. – Milford & Leesburg meet at the Milford Shell Station at 11 a.m. – Syracuse & North Webster meet at Wawasee Bowl at 11:30 a.m. – Pierceton & Sidney meet at the Old Train Depot at noon. In the future, Fussle says he would like to see other groups join the clean-up effort county-wide. “My wife and I are in touch with high school teachers and administrators to get students involved. We are meeting with Harris and Reed to get them on board with using non-violent offenders out contributing and making a positive difference here rather than rotting in a cell. Most importantly, I hope to change the thought process of those who think littering is ok. We need to take pride in our County. It represents us as a group of people, and we ought to be ashamed right now. Let’s make this place as incredible as I know it can be.”