My mother made us show her our hands before the evening meal. She would always say, “Clean hands make for a clean heart.”

You didn’t go to the meal table without washing your hands. I suppose she was ahead of her time.

Everywhere you go these days, signs indicate you should wash your hands.

I propose that Lawrence County needs a clean up for a clean heart. We need to give some attention to some areas of concern.

First, we need to clean up the drug problem in Lawrence County. I’ve seen firsthand how illegal drugs destroy lives.

Drug use reduces productive citizens to common criminals. No matter our politics, we need to recognize that our region has a severe problem with drug use, cooperate with Governor Kasich’s efforts to eliminate drug use in our county, and supply needed resources for our sheriff and local law enforcement to wage this battle.

Our county, free from illegal drug use, will have a clean heart.

We need to clean up our county’s environment.

The winter snows that blanketed our region have melted away to reveal pollution along the highways, roads and streams of Lawrence County.

Churches, families, youth organizations and civic groups should sign on with the Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste District in order to participate in the countywide cleanup on Saturday, May 7. This highly successful event provides the resources your group needs to make a real difference in your community. You can’t come to the table until you’ve done your part to clean up the place.

Finally I support the concept of cleaning up the unemployment status in Lawrence County.

We need new ideas, renewed focus and heightened energy in order to attract new businesses, manufacturing and companies to Lawrence County.

Cooperation with our local chamber, development entities and other professionals will provide the right mix for improving our circumstances.

We can’t wait on someone else to rescue us. Whether it is captains of commerce, port authorities, business bureaus or entrepreneurs, we all need to take part in promoting our county as the best place to live, work, recreate and dream.

So if you want a place at the table, step up and do your part in cleaning up the county.

We need a clean topography, a drug-free citizenry and a zealous effort on the part of all county entities to clean up our economy.

When we accomplish this we can all sit down at the table and partake of the bounty of a successful community.

David M. Lucas, Ph.D. is a professor at Ohio University Southern.