On Thursday, nearly all the leaders in Lawrence County met to discuss Project First Impression, a new effort to clean up the county.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency recently told the county commissioners that Lawrence County is among the worst when it comes to litter and illegal dumping.

This was something that Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District Director Dan Palmer said there were 14 illegal tire dumps cleaned up last year. Just last month, crews cleaned up one of the worst sites, which had 2,500 tires and over 1,000 syringes.

The goal, as the project’s name implies, is to make it so the first impression of Lawrence County is a positive one.

For a county that is trying to attract businesses, a good first impression is highly important.

We call on everyone to help put a better face on Lawrence County, whether it is something as simple as cutting high weeds to cleaning junk out of yards and properly disposing of it.

Just like when a person dresses in their best for a job interview, Lawrence Countians need to dress up this area to bring in badly needed jobs.

Our economic future depends on it.