Between the erratic weather patterns and the groundhog not seeing his shadow, signs of spring are popping up everywhere. Just take a drive around Vicksburg. Daffodils are blooming and trees have begun flowering.

Springtime in Vicksburg is beautiful. It’s just too bad there are some who want to mar an otherwise lovely town. I am talking about those who litter.

These folks for whatever reason seem to think the city is their personal trash can. You have seen them, tossing garbage from their car or truck window. Are these people brainless? Don’t they get it? If they don’t want the rubbish in their car, why in the world would they think others would enjoy it?

My sister-in-law called me yesterday ranting about these folks who have no respect for other’s property or our town and wondered what we could do to stop it.

We talked about the possibility of those in power enacting a ridiculously expensive fine in an effort to curtail a litterer’s dirty deed or if a day spent on the roadside cleaning up would teach them a lesson.

We surmised that it would probably be difficult to enforce either of these ideas, but were not resigned to the fact it should continue without a fight.

A few years back I also wrote a column on litter. I had been behind a car whose driver just tossed out their fast food bag, plastic cup and all. I was outraged and decided to follow them and once they stopped, I was set to give them a piece of my mind.

When this finally happened and I rolled down my window to fuss, they hit the gas pedal and drove off. It probably wasn’t the smartest move I have ever made, but it just made me so mad seeing someone too lazy to do the right thing.

My sister-in-law and I have also noticed places along the road where people have just discarded old mattresses and furniture.

While we have yet to come up with a plan of action for litter in our town, I was hoping as a community we could put our heads together and come up with a strategy.

Maybe we could get our daycare centers, schools and churches on board and ask if they would be open to discussing the cons of littering. Learning something at an early age seems to stick more than when you get older.

As I said before in my earlier column, when I was a Girl Scout, we had outings where we walked along the road collecting trash. It was a nasty job, but it instilled in me a sense of responsibility.

I didn’t like picking up trash, therefore, someone else would not like picking up mine. Our city leadership has made great strides and effort in providing Vicksburg with green spaces and attractive roadway medians. If not for that reason alone, as a community, we need to derive a strategy to expound on their energies to keep our city clean.

Spring is on its way, so let’s work toward making sure it’s the flowers people notice and not the trash.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer at The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.