An act of Mother Nature should not have been required to force the demolition of the old Washington School gymnasium.

The school gym, which is the property of the Natchez-Adams School District, has been a very visible eyesore on U.S. 61 north of Natchez for too many years.

Its neighbor, Historic Jefferson College, has often feared visitors who see its sign will think the dilapidated school is the college and will drive past.

But mostly, any building in such a state of disrepair that collapse is imminent should be repaired or demolished immediately.

The gymnasium, which holds many fond memories for a generation of Adams County residents, in recent years, has been nothing but a hazard to young people and teens, who find such buildings too tempting to resist exploring.

Imagine if precocious children had been in the building Wednesday night when it collapsed.

A spokesman for the school district said the school’s administration had put the demolition of the old gym out for bid, but none of those bids came back with an acceptable price. He said now that the roof has collapsed, the demolition of the building has become more of a priority.

This project should have been more of a priority for the school district before now. Care of public properties remains a concern throughout our community as many of those buildings sit in disrepair. Our local leaders need to make care of such things a greater priority, before someone gets hurt.