Dear editor: We can all do better

Dear editor:

I just read Rex Nelson's opinion piece in today's (March 4) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette -- "Shame of Hot Springs." It is a shame to walk downtown Central Avenue and see what has happened to the avenue that was once the best in Arkansas. I do hope that the investment we are currently seeing in the area will continue and that in a few years I will again be walking the best avenue in the state.

Most of us don't have investment capital, and so we only watch and wait for the "big boys and girls" to fix it for us. There is, however, a way we can all help. I am a volunteer at a local nonprofit located in one of our historic districts. In early February, I took a look at our yard. To an outside, critical eye, it did look a bit unkempt (trashy) -- overgrown and cluttered with debris and sticks. My husband and I decided to clean it up. We've been clearing and raking and pruning for a month now. Things are looking better. Soon we'll be planting flowers and shrubs and this little bit of Hot Springs will be a credit to our organization and to the city.

We can all do better. If each one of us takes responsibility for our personal piece of the city or for a public piece, all of Hot Springs would benefit. I challenge my friends and neighbors to make a start. It isn't all about money and power. It's also about citizens taking responsibility for their community.

Susan Oster Hayes

Hot Springs

Editorial on 03/06/2015

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