After Las Cruces code officers clean elderly man’s yard, he tells them: ‘Thank God for people like you’

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- A 94-year-old Las Cruces man was overwhelmed by emotion Tuesday after code enforcement officers cleaned his yard.

"I can't get around," said Bill Jackson. "Happy is not the word. Ecstatic."

"One of our citizens needed assistance, so that's why we're out here," said Michael Roach, a field supervisor with the department.

Community members normally assist the elderly with the Golden Shield Yard Assistance program, but Roach said the program was suspended because of Covid-19.

"We're hoping that the golden shield program would get reinstated," Roach said.

"Thank God for people like you," Jackson said as he wiped away tears.