Do your part to help clean the city

Spring's warmth has finally arrived, bringing a welcome break from winter's harshness. With it comes walks and baseball games, window shopping and a long list of excuses to consume the fresh air.

We'd like to offer a friendly reminder that the 70s also clamor for cleaning.

April is cleanup month in Cape Girardeau. City crews are doing their part to tie up loose ends, such as finishing the leaf pickup that was interrupted repeatedly by snow drifts. City personnel will be on general pickup duty throughout the month. We would like to encourage everyone to participate in the annual Friends of the Parks Day and Great Cape Clean-Up on April 26. On the same day, Jackson will have its Parks Day, where volunteers will gather to clean up the parks as well.

In the meantime, we can all do little things in our own spaces to make our neighborhoods and spaces a little cleaner. From cleaning up leaves, to whitewashing fences to planting flower beds, we all play a role in painting our city beautiful.

There are many ways to take advantage of spring's splendor. Think about adding a little elbow grease to your neighborhood. Collectively, we can make our city shine.