Las Cruces Third Grader Names Solid Waste Mini-Truck

Las Cruces Utilities has a new solid waste mini-truck in its fleet and its name is Little Grabby.

The name Little Grabby is the result of a competition held in April 2024, by LCU at the City’s Weed and Seed Program located at the A. Fielder Memorial Safe Haven facility, 906 N. Tornillo Street. The vehicle will service older neighborhoods like the area where this program is located, as streets are more narrow and larger trash collection vehicles have a difficult time maneuvering through.

Children who participated in the program were given a demonstration of the mini-truck and were asked to give the vehicle a new name. More than 40 names were submitted into the competition by the Weed and Seed program participants who then voted for the final name. The name chosen was decoratively added to the side of the vehicle along with the LCU logo.

The trimmed vehicle returned Thursday, September 26, 2024, to the A. Fielder Memorial Safe Haven parking lot as a backdrop for the announcement of the winning name and recognition of the youngster who chose it.

Third grader, Milah Lee, was notified in front of other program participants that her submission of the name Grabby was chosen. Lee was awarded a certificate and a prize bag for her contribution.

LCU staff added “Little” to the name to honor William Little, a member of the LCU Board of Commissioners who retired earlier this year. Little had been on the board since its inception in 2006.

Little Grabby has been in operation for a few weeks and has the hauling capacity of 150 containers where a full size LCU solid waste truck can haul about 700 containers. Weed and Seed Program participants range in age from 5-11 years old. Each child was presented with a bag of fun items from LCU to show their appreciation for participating in the naming event.