Ask some Lawrence County and Ironton residents about the issues that are facing their communities, and they won’t be able to comment.

Wednesday, September 22, 1999

Ask some Lawrence County and Ironton residents about the issues that are facing their communities, and they won’t be able to comment. They won’t have any idea what you are talking about.

Ask others whom they will vote for this November for their school board or village council member, mayor or other public official and some won’t even know there is a reason to vote, let alone who is running.

One of the greatest dangers facing many American cities and Lawrence County is the lack of interest on the part of the electorate about the past, present and future of their communities.

Americans are less in danger from crime and corruption than they are from their own apathy and self-involvement – because that is how problems start and get out of control.

If no one but the Ironton Business Association and a few community members care enough to register an opinion or to get involved in the Ironton-Russell Bridge discussion, the bridge will go where the Ohio Department of Transportation decides is best.

The same will be true in South Point if only a few community members get involved in the levy campaign. Without public support and interest, there will be no new schools. The state will not force the community to provide the matching funds.

Making a better future for our children requires more than talk by one or two community leaders. Citizens must care enough to get involved.

Apathy only breeds problems and guarantees that what is ailing a community will never change. It is the enemy all communities must fight – and beat – to grow.