Proud to be from Cape? We can all help with that

A number of years ago there was a Speak Out comment in the Southeast Missourian that got my dander up.

(That's not the only time, of course, but it's the only one pertinent to this column.)

The comment said Cape Girardeau's littering problem was so bad that our fair River City of Roses looked worse than Wayne County.

I took special offense because I am a product of Wayne County. And, like most everyone else, I take particular pride in my home county over yonder in the Ozarks. To me, Wayne County isn't just my home. It's also the prettiest county anywhere in the world.

At the time of that offending Speak Out comment, my mother was still living in Wayne County. So I was even more sensitive to having Wayne County labeled as trashy.

The next time we went to see my mother after that comment appeared -- and after I had listened to my mother's lament questioning why any right-thinking newspaper editor would allow such a lame comment to be published in the first place, I noticed something terrible: Wayne County's roadsides had turned into long stretches of litter.

There it was, in plain sight. I just hadn't noticed. The Speak Out caller was right, as they so often are.

I wrote a column about all this at the time, and I suggested it was time for Cape Girardeau to shape up, litter-wise. I don't know if that column had any effect, but I do know that shortly thereafter a call to action went out from the mayor at the time, Jay Knudtson, to clean up our city. City officials were joined by folks from the county and the Missouri Department of Transportation. A coordinated attack was planned. Cape Girardeau joined the Keep America Beautiful movement. For a while, there was considerable steam in the effort to reduce litter on city streets.

But let's face facts. Litter isn't sexy.

And in a few months the anti-littering charge petered out.

Now the city is making a new effort. The public works department is targeting not only litter, but also needed street repairs and other maintenance needs along our city streets.

This effort has a new name: Operation Clean Sweep. The effort has the enthusiastic backing of the current mayor, Harry Rediger.

While city employees are being put on the front lines of this battle, all of us can help. Do you know of a litter problem? Are there weeds that need whacking? Would a bit of paint spruce up your neighborhood?

Call 339-6351.

Tell whoever answers the phone what you've seen and what you think should be done.

I know. This won't make littering and other eyesores sexy. But it's worth the effort. It has been proven more than once that eliminating eyesores helps prevent new ones. Efforts to clean up a city result in pride, and pride results in fewer eyesores. It's a fact. It's called the "broken window syndrome." If you don't do anything about smashed windows in vacant buildings, there will be more broken windows. But if you push property owners to take responsibility for the upkeep of their property, fewer problems occur.

I wish the city well in this latest effort. I'm sure most residents of Cape Girardeau agree that well-maintained streets and sidewalks are a huge plus for a city.

Since my mother died a few years ago, I don't have many occasions to go to Wayne County. But I can tell you one thing: I don't ever want to hear anyone say that Cape Girardeau is so trashy it looks worse than my beloved home county.

This is my home now. I don't live in a trashy house. I don't have a trashy yard. My neighbors aren't trashy. I'd be proud to have anyone drive down my street.

How about you?

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.