An African proverb touts that, "It takes a village to raise a child." Maybe an Ironton proverb should be, "It takes a community to clean a city."

That is certainly the case here in Ironton since small community efforts and short-handed city workers are unable to keep the city looking good. Ironton Municipal Judge O. Clark Collins Jr. has initiated the "No Block Left Behind" cleanup again this year. The project will be ongoing throughout the summer as community service workers do their part to give something back to society.

We applaud Collins' efforts and urge residents to embrace the program and take advantage of it. The project will be in vane if people don't utilize it to discard their accumulated junk.

To take it a step further, residents should not only get rid of their junk, they should cleanup their property and the surrounding area and leave the refuse for the men and women in the program to dispose of properly.

The community service workers will canvas the city. The workers will leave door hangers to let residents know they will be in the neighborhood.

Residents should place any unwanted items or trash in the alley or near the tree lawn.

Thousands of people are likely to visit Ironton this weekend as the Gus Macker basketball tournament kicks-off and the Memorial Day weekend festivities roll into town the following week.

We must put our best foot forward because every visitor should be looked at as a prospective resident or prospective business owner. Every one of us must ban together to showcase the city's true beauty that, unfortunately, often gets covered with trash and debris.

The cleanup program is about doing what is best for the city. Despite what some will say, the issue should not be political.

It is not about candidates and it is not about taking away union jobs, as has been alleged in the past.

We don't care who you support in the upcoming municipal judge election. Every Ironton resident should take advantage of this opportunity for what it is - a chance to show some community pride and showcase that to the Tri-State.

After all, Ironton should be considered our beautiful baby. Let's raise it right.