The measure of how good a city is can, in some ways, be measured by the quality of roads, cemeteries and parks.

The roads, obviously, cater to the present residents, who use them to get from here to there. Roads get taken care of by political obligation to help ensure votes come Election Day.

Cemeteries harken back to our past, illustrating the respect a city’s inhabitants have for its ancestral roots. Truly good people, who feel an obligation to and an appreciation for the memories of the persons buried there, care for cemeteries.

Parks are often the forgotten places in a community. These playgrounds of children and animals often fall by the wayside, pushed out to jobs deemed more important.

That’s why we were delighted to see the investment put into Natchez’s Memorial Park. Thousands of Natchez residents have walked beneath the shadows of the park’s expansive oak trees and gazed in wonder at the beautiful iron fountain at its center.

We applaud the City of Natchez for the investment into sprucing up the park over the summer. It’s up to citizens to help the city keep the park clean, by appreciating the investment and working hard to keep the park beautiful for all to see for years to come.