FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Two men who brought last year’s Heroes’ Day Civic and Awards Ceremony in Falmouth to a halt as they berated a man seen urinating in public, were on Monday presented with awards for their display of civic pride.

The awards to Courtney “Dappa” Yetman and Anthony “Toyo” Watson were the culmination of a promise made by mayor of Falmouth C Junior Gager, who is on an unrelenting campaign to keep the historic town clean.

During last year’s ceremony the mayor was interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of raised voices. The event was halted as the hubbub was investigated. It soon became apparent that two men were upbraiding another for urinating behind a wall on a street near Falmouth’s historic Water Square.

“These two men — Dappa and Toyo, both sons of Falmouth — did something that was quite commendable, and this impressed the mayor of Falmouth who capitalised on the moment in time to commend them both,” read a section of the citation presented on Monday.

“On National Heroes’ Day 2022 a man was seen urinating against the public walls, a practice which was totally distasteful. In no uncertain manner these two men — champions for a change — chided him for his actions. They made it clear that they would not tolerate the nastiness. They wanted a cleaner town. They exhibited civic pride,” it went on.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer after the awards ceremony, Yetman said everyone should play their part in displaying civic pride.

“This is our town, and we should always keep it clean. There are public facilities where one can urinate so there should be no excuse to urinate in public,” he said.

For his part, Gordon said the commendation for his action was unexpected.

“I was just hitting out at the nasty practice at the time; I was not expecting any award,” he stated.

The men were among seven special awardees on Monday. There were 24 individuals honoured during the well-attended ceremony.

Gager described Yetman and Gordon as ambassadors.

“These are the type of fearless individuals we want to represent the vision that the Trelawny Municipal Corporation has for the town. The public recognition of their deeds is the least we could have done for them. If we had more stalwarts like them we would surely be guaranteed a much cleaner town,” the mayor told the Observer.

“We will continue to play our part, and welcome everyone to play their part,” he added.

The Trelawny Municipal Corporation recently announced that it is preparing to publish photos of individuals caught urinating in public or littering the streets, part of a wider push to clean up Falmouth ahead of the Christmas unveiling of a statue of legendary sprinter Usain Bolt, and the long-term plan to transform its image from a smelly, congested community into a resort town.