DETROIT – A Detroit neighborhood said their streets were saddled with trash that had been illegally dumped. Local 4 reached out and the city stepped in to help.

“I am stage four lung cancer and I don’t want the last of my life to be looking at garbage,” Caulette Djakonow, who lives on Dayton Street in Detroit, said.

For over two months, Djakonow walked out of her home to see trash piling up in front of a nearby lot.

“When people come to my home, and I have a nice home, the first thing they say is ‘Wow, it looks so nice,’ No. Now, it’s ‘What the hell is that?’ That’s everyone, family and friends. I shouldn’t have to live like that,” she said.

But, that view changed Saturday morning after she called Local 4 and Local 4 called the city.

“I got up and I opened up the front door and it just didn’t look right down there,” Djakonow said. “So, I opened up the door and said, ‘Oh my god! It’s gone.’ So, I called you right away.”

She’s grateful it’s gone, but wishes it hadn’t taken so long.

Djakonow’s home has been in her family for decades.

When the trash started piling up, she says she repeatedly called waste services.

“They have to be held accountable and they have to get it out of there,” she said, describing what the waste service told her about removing the trash. “And, if not, then it goes to court and that could take another two to three months. So, what you’re telling me is that I have to look at this garbage for another five months?”

With stage four lung cancer, she says the mess was more than an eyesore. She worried about the health hazards it could create.

Once the city got Local 4’s call, crews came out and cleared this pile, along with others nearby.

“The Department of Public Works came out this morning and picked it all up,” Eva Torres, the District six manager for the city’s Department of Neighborhoods, said.

Torres is glad the city was able to step in quickly, but she wants people to know how to report problems like this.

“One of the most important methods is the Improve Detroit app and so you can download the app onto your phone,” she said. “You can go onto your laptop. You can take a picture of whatever it is that is out and that is sent directly to whatever department needs to take care of the issue.”

She says you can also call your district manager directly with concerns.

Djakonow says she now plans to work with the city to make sure the dumping doesn’t return.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “I am so grateful, you just don’t even know. I was so happy when I woke up and saw that. I was like ‘Hallelujah!’”

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (WXYZ) — Three metro Detroit men say their shared love of Pontiac GTOs has kept them connected for decades — and every summer, Woodward Avenue feels like home.

Stan Chodun, Jerry Moss and Steve Lutren show up to the Woodward Dream Cruise with three lawn chairs, three cars and years of memories to go along with them. Between them, they own a 1965, a 1966 and a 1967 Pontiac GTO.

Watch Jeffrey Lindblom’s video report below:

Three Detroit-area men say Pontiac GTOs sparked a friendship that has lasted decades

“The three of us go back quite a number of years,” Lutren said.

Lutren’s first car was a Pontiac GTO, and he never quite let it go.

“There’s nothing like it,” Lutren said. “I love the car and I love talking about it.”

For Moss, his GTO ranks among his most prized possessions.

“Next to my daughter and my grand kids. This is my baby,” Moss said.

Moss keeps his engine spotless — clean enough, he says, to cook on.

“You can probably cook an egg on it. It’s that clean,” Moss said.

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Moss said he has been coming to Woodward since the late ’60s and never stopped. He said he never expected that his love of cars would lead him to his closest friends.

“No,” Moss said. “Absolutely not. Not in your life. It has formed great friendships. You tend to want to keep people like that around.”

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The three men are all retired, which means they can arrive early and stay as long as they like.

“We just happen to be retired, so we can come out early and we can stay all day and all night,” Lutren said.

From their lawn chairs along Woodward, the three agree that nostalgia is the word that comes to mind.

“All the good times you had on this street, which you can not imagine,” Chodun said.

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Chodun and his friends reflected on the hustle and bustle of their younger days, when they say things seemed simpler in the ’60s — right down to the engine technology.

“You can open it up, fix what you need to fix and probably have a piece of pizza while you’re inside there,” Chodun said. “It’s in the heart. Gear heads. We grew up in the Motor City. Great memories, great cars, great friends, great conversations.”

Moss called the whole experience “a labor of love.”

Lutren said his GTO feels like an old companion.

“It’s an old friend,” Lutren said. “I used to come out here every day.”

Related video: Woodward Dream Cruise weekend kicks off with cars, family and community

Woodward Dream Cruise weekend kicks off with cars, family and community

The three said the spirit they share is something you can see on every face at the Dream Cruise.

“Everyone is walking around with a smile. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Lutren said.

“I don’t know what summer would be like without a cruise,” Moss said.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.