Pointing out the bad and the ugly in a situation is easy. Seeing the potential for good is a little more difficult, but mighty important if the ugly and bad things are ever to be cleaned up.

But that level of vision is exactly what Ferriday’s downtown needs.

Years of neglect and little historic preservation regulation have caused the city’s historic downtown to be a bit rough around the edges.

Again, that’s the easy part — pointing out the problems.

The difficult part is seeing what Ferriday’s downtown could be — and should be — and working hard to get it there.

Fortunately, the difficult part just got a little easier thanks to a long-sought-after designation that the Town of Ferriday just received.

As an official certified local government, the town will receive a $124,000 grant. Those funds likely will be turned over to the Ferriday Downtown Revitalization Committee, which is an excellent place for it.

Ferriday’s downtown needs some help and the money, if used wisely, can go a long way toward helping at least a section of downtown look a bit better.

Until Ferriday begins cleaning up how it looks, it may struggle to fully take advantage of its world-renowned music history.

The Delta Music Museum is great, but Ferriday needs more to become an attractive place for people to visit.

Having the vision to turn the current eyesores into the shops and restaurants of tomorrow only takes some hard work and a little money. The recent designation and the grant money will help get the wheels greased. Now the community leaders just need to keep pushing.