Adams County is the holder of a record we’d rather not have: trashiest county in the state.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office employee in charge of the county’s litter control crew said our county consistently earns the award for most litter picked up by road crews.

In May alone, litter crews picked up 266 bags of trash on highways and 470 bags of trash on county roads.

It seems unreal that we have to urge residents in Natchez and Adams County to stop littering.

We are arguably one of the most beautiful locations in Mississippi. Further, our economy is dependent on tourism dollars. A full 20 percent of us work in jobs directly related to serving tourists.

How many tourists came into our community and left with an unpleasant impression because of the discarded trash along the roadway or the illegal dumping taking place along county right-of-ways?

We’ll never know the answer to that, until perhaps it’s too late for us to do anything to remedy the situation.

We’ve all heard the adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

We can do better on the first impression we give to those who visit our community — and spend their hard-earned dollars here.

If for no reason other than respecting our environment and our own community, please make an effort to properly dispose of your litter. And instill in your children the desire to do the same.