Try to drive down an Ironton street after dark or take a trip down to Center Street Landing and you will see that an old Ironton problem is once again rearing its ugly head.

Wednesday, November 10, 1999

Try to drive down an Ironton street after dark or take a trip down to Center Street Landing and you will see that an old Ironton problem is once again rearing its ugly head.

Contrary to what some people might think, cruising is not teenagers just harmlessly driving around the city because they don’t have anything better to do.

The teens who are out on the city streets and near the riverfront are – for the most part – not from Lawrence County and not interested in a friendly drive around the city.

There is drinking in the cruise line as well as experimentation with other substances – and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The cars that are traveling the streets are not always driven by teenagers. There are older men there, too. No parent should need to be warned about the dangers of his or her teenage daughters being around men in their late 20s or early 30s.

Add to that a penchant for vandalism, bottles in streets and clogged streets that no emergency vehicle could possibly get through and you have a recipe for disaster.

What is the solution to cruising? Who knows. But the bottom line is that it is an issue that city leaders need to take seriously and residents have to start thinking about if they want their community to be safe.