Drive the countryside in rural Adams County and you’ll quickly discover one of the ugly sides of our normally beautiful part of the world — litterbugs are among us.

Sadly, the most gorgeous of country roads and scenic byways can become eyesores quickly at the hands of a few dirty, rotten litterers.

Grungy residents seem to come in one of two camps.

They are either too cheap to pay their own garbage bills, so they find a convenient — often public — spot to dump their refuse.

Or they’re simply too lazy to dispose of their trash properly, so they toss it out their car window or into the back of their truck beds, where the wind will eventually suck it out and onto the roadside.

The result is the same — their trash becomes an eyesore for the rest of us.

Last week, the Adams County Board of Supervisors decided to make a slight change to its litter control program. Rather than replacing the resigning solid waste enforcement officer, the county opted to put the responsibility for the enforcement in the hands of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

We think that’s a good plan, if properly worked. Since the ACSO can deputize whoever works for them, the long arm of the litter enforcement law should have a little bit more reach going forward.

But the ability to enforce something is only as good as the willingness of the enforcement authority to take the matter seriously. Litter has been ignored for far too long. It’s time to put an end to it.