Wichita ? A neighborhood’s long fight to clear a homeowner’s yard of mountains of trash concluded with heavy equipment unceremoniously dumping huge loads of junk into bins.

“This is what you call history in the making,” Lyons said, “We fought for so long to get this done. We’re so happy, we’re celebrating. All we need is some popcorn.”

Besides the powerful odor, neighbors said, the junk stacked in Greg Gracey’s yard attracted mosquitoes, snakes, rodents and other pests.

Now, for the first time in years, Fisher-Perry and her family are making summer barbecue plans.

The women said Gracey had been stacking the trash since at least the early ’90s.

Fisher-Perry’s son, Ronnie Fisher, said he started complaining to the city about the mess when it began to pile up 15 years ago.

“I don’t think they really realized how bad it was,” he said.

The city took the case to Sedgwick County District Court last month and obtained an order allowing the city to start the cleanup. The court also ordered Gracey to pay for it.

When crews got to work Wednesday, the trash towered higher than 6 feet in some places and was corralled into the yard by boards, fencing and pieces of cast-iron railing.

“Everything you can think of is back there,” Fisher-Perry said.

For years, issues with the property had bounced around city courts, which sometimes issued fines against Gracey or ordered him to clean it up. But the mess never went away.

Gracey’s lawyer, Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, said his client can’t seem to throw things away. Journey said he helped Gracey clean up the backyard in 1999 but that it had slowly stacked up again.

“He regrets putting his neighbors through this, and he tried his very best to clean it up,” Journey said. “Hopefully it’s all done today.”

About four months ago, Sunflower Community Action joined the fight to clean up the property.

The organization, a nonprofit advocacy group, protested at the health department, City Council meetings and even City Manager George Kolb’s home.

As the women watched Wednesday, a man driving a skid-steer loader pulled down a large board in the property’s backyard.

“Here it comes,” Lyons yelled toward Fisher-Perry. “The wall comes tumbling down.