Pleasing to the eye

Warm weather and nature's beauty are good stimulants for the hundreds of area residents who have made an earnest effort to spruce up their yards, around their businesses and throughout their communities.

Part of the sprucing up, of course, entails getting rid of a winter's worth of leaves, limbs, sweet gum balls and whatever litter has been deposited by the wind.

Since the Southeast Missourian began calling attention to the area's litter problem a few weeks ago, there has been an enormous cleanup effort. And the results are obvious. The Scott City, Jackson and Cape Girardeau areas are more pleasing to the eye these days. In addition to the spring flowers, redbuds, dogwoods and crab apple trees, there is less clutter.

And there are plenty of special events scheduled during April to further the cause of community beautification. Every town has something going on for which volunteers are needed. This is a great opportunity for area residents to show how much they care about where they live and how much they appreciate living where there is tremendous pride.

With spring yard work comes the annual questions about what to do with limbs, leaves and other debris that collect on our lawns, under our hedges, in our flower beds and around our houses. Special pickups of extra trash can be arranged by calling the public works department in the town where you live. Private haulers are available for hire. And don't forget that a lot of the things we find in our yards can be turned into mulch and compost.

It is awfully easy to think of our yards as "ours" and the streets in front of our houses as "somebody else's problem." That's why you see so many piles of leaves, branches, grass clippings and sweet gum balls in the street this time of the year. But the fact is our streets aren't good dump sites. There are better ways to get rid of the debris. Keeping our streets clear is another part of the overall beautification process.

Thanks to everyone who is pitching in to make this area a showcase for tidiness. The litter is disappearing. Let's get rid of all of it.