Craig Daily Press

Craig — A car drives down the street.

Dirt kicks up behind it and sprays to the left and right.

Gravel and dirt scatter across curbs and sidewalks, while a dust-cloud trail rises and lingers behind the vehicle.

As much as the leaves turning green, these reminders left behind from the snow removal crews also signal in spring, and reinforce the meaning of spring cleaning.

That’s why seeing the city of Craig’s street cleaners out and about, working on getting the roads clear, is such a pleasant sight.

It’s not an easy process with winter’s chill lingering on.

And on.

And on.

Cleaning the city is not a quick process. Many city streets received more than a dusting of sand this winter.

Still the clean-up process has started, a process the editorial board applauds.

The City Council has proven to be proactive in this approach, seeking and purchasing cleaning equipment that can get to the streets faster, meaning a more appealing cityscape earlier in the spring.

Even with this process in motion, the editorial board can’t help but wonder, will last year’s cleanup efforts continue into 2008?

Were there contributing factors toward last year’s efforts?

In part, yes.

Let’s go back 365 days: We knew that Ride the Rockies was coming through Craig, an event that provided the town a great opportunity to make a good impression on thousands of visitors.

There were other events, such as the Moving Wall, as well as annual events, such as Whittle the Wood and Grand Olde West Days.

The city and many of its residents helped shine up the town, and the area shined in the views of many tourists because of it.

This year, there is the Centennial Celebration. Who knows how many tourists it will bring. And perhaps that is irrelevant.

This year, cleaning up Craig shouldn’t be about what others think of us.

It should be about pride, and there is a lot to have pride in.

We are celebrating 100 years of being an incorporated city.

We have new businesses coming to town and old businesses improving.

We have a community that genuinely cares about others.

And although it was not perfect, several significant strides were made last year toward beautification.

This year, we can build upon that and do even more.

Which brings us back to the aforementioned street cleaners out and about. While it’s great to see them, having a clean town and community cannot fall to the government alone.

Business owners/renters need to clean up and improve their buildings’ facades.

Ditto for home owners/renters.

Community members have plenty of opportunities to clean up, well, their community, and can do so on their own or by joining the Craig Beautification Committee or other service groups.

The point is there are plenty of ways to get involved and to make a difference.

Because in the end, we would like to think there is more to clean-up efforts than a chance to impress others.

We would like to think it’s about showing off the best in us.

And this year, the year of our Centennial, is the perfect time to do just that.

CNCC

The editorial board also would like to applaud Colorado Northwestern Community College for showing its plans.

There has been discussion on an expanded Craig campus for a long time, and seeing the plans brings a sense of reassurance.

The plans have foresight, something we have come to expect from CNCC.