Operation Facelift

Cleanup effort will only succeed with strong community support

There is a saying—usually credited as an old African proverb—that “It takes a village to raise a child.” Some may dispute the validity of that quote—especially considering it was popularized by Democratic presidential front runner Hillary Clinton in a book published back in 1996.

But politics aside, the saying is about the importance of community. We think most people would agree that community spirit is important in many facets of our lives. Without it we are strangers living in proximity. And without it our cities and towns will never be the kind of places we hope they become.

The city of Texarkana, Ark., is hoping community spirit will play a big role in a civic beautification program called “Operation Facelift.”

The project will be a citywide effort, taken one block at a time, to improve the appearance of the city as a whole.

And with a better appearance comes better property values as well as a better sense of pride.

But the city can’t do it alone. Local property owners and residents will have to do their part to maintain houses and keep yards neat and free of debris. Many residents already do this and do a fine job. Others are more lax. And some folks don’t seem to care one bit about how their property looks.

Perhaps this will be a wake-up call for those in the latter camp.

“Operation Facelift” is expected to get under way by the new year. But there is no reason citizens cannot get a head start on the program, especially since temperatures have cooled and getting some outside work done is not nearly the miserable experience it was just a few weeks ago.

We commend the city for its efforts and call on residents to voluntarily do their part.

And for those who don’t, we can only remind them about codes that require property upkeep. And we expect the city will be enforcing those codes with renewed vigor once the operation gets into full swing.

Sprucing up the Arkansas side is a good idea. It’s an effort everyone east of the state line should support.

In Our View