The best thing about a new year is that it feels like an opportunity for a whole new lifestyle change, a chance to sweep out the old and bring in the new.

So while we are all pledging to work out every day, eat more fruits and vegetables and be kinder to strangers, how about some resolutions for our community?

Here’s a few we’d like to see everyone &045; including ourselves &045; take to heart:

Pay more attention &045; make that more courteous attention &045; while driving, especially downtown. Throughout the year we have tourists visiting Natchez and its antebellum houses, and we can’t expect all of them to catch on immediately to our one-way streets and stop signs. We should be thankful they are here spending their money. For that matter, let’s remember to be polite when they ask for directions. You never know who is a tourist and who is an industrial prospect.

While we’re talking about tourists, let’s remember to keep working on cleaning up downtown. Private and corporate citizens have stepped up to the plate to make a difference in this area, but our local officials need to take the lead here. Our downtown is essentially the place we greet our guests &045; tourists &045; and we need to keep it clean and inviting, from having flowers planted to fixing the curbs.

Run a clean municipal election season. We will have folks running for city offices on both sides of the river, and the way people are talking those campaigns could turn into a free-for-all. Perhaps it is too much to ask, but we’re hoping for campaigns that focus on the issues and not on destructive tactics. The dirty campaigns may be more fun for political junkies to watch, but they certainly do nothing for our communities.

Perhaps the most important resolution: Work together. We can have a bright future if we work hard but we must use teamwork. The first step may be admitting the problem &045; true or not, we have not had a reputation throughout the state for getting along with each other, whether we have divisions along political or racial lines. Let’s put that behind us and move into the future &045; and make sure our public face matches our private one.

Happy New Year to all.