VALDOSTA, Ga. – “We have to do better!” Kevin Bussey, candidate for Valdosta Mayor, recently posted on his Facebook profile.

“While out canvassing the east side of town I saw these three kids pushing lawnmowers, rakes, and gas down Ponderosa Drive,” Bussey continued. “I immediately stopped to have a conversation with them telling them how proud I am of them. These kids are cutting yards for $15 ($5 a piece).”

Bussey said he went and got them some water and gave them five dollars a piece and encouraged them to keep up the good work.

“These kids could have been doing wrong such as stealing, breaking into cars and houses, but they took it upon themselves to go out and do something constructive and I’m proud of them,” Bussey wrote. “We have to uplift our next generation, oppose putting them down every time we get a chance or looking over their efforts.”

Bussey talked to the boys and found that one wants to be a truck driver, another enjoys his boxing lessons, and the last wasn’t sure but took a great liking to Bussey’s truck and anspires to have a Tahoe one day.

“They love going to JL Newbern but feel everyone stereotypes them because everyone thinks all kids are terrible there,” Bussey said. “I told them that I am a product of that school and I also grew up in this same area. I told them you can be whomever it is you want to be…it’s all about choices! These kids and many other at Newbern are just that..kids! Stop talking about them and encourage them. Invest into our young ones and most of all love them through their mistakes. Love them through the pigmentation of the skin. Love them through the hard times. Love is what moves Valdosta and our future generations forward.”

In closing, Bussey had this to say, “I love my city.”