Tuesday, figureheads from around Dallas County pulled off U.S. Highway 80 east, stepped across garbage piled on the road, and announced a state and federal grant that will help “beautify” the area.

Elizabeth Driggers, who works in the Planning and Development office for the city of Selma, said the grant has been in the works for nearly four years. Tuesday, the grant became a reality, and taxpayer funds will be used to clean Selma’s worst eyesore.

News of the grant must be considered positive. Having the funds to plant new shrubbery or place screen fences in front of unsightly businesses will help in the overall presentation of our community.

But $240,000 can only do so much. In the Selmont area, $10 million could only do so much.

Many people we consider leaders in our community own land in the five-mile stretch between the Edmund Pettus Bridge and Craig Field. The only problem is, some of that property is just as worn as anything else on Selma’s portion of the National Voting Rights Trail.

While money can help change an attitude, money eventually goes away. Once the city purchases a few bushes and hires people to drive Bush Hogs over barren soil, the money will soon disappear. What will we do then?

Americans — Selmians included — have formed a very bad habit of relying on government to fix all the problems. At the rate we’re going, we’ll all believe it’s best to wait on a government grant before we mow our front yards. And in some of the most unsightly areas on U.S. 80 east, the greatest problem is grass that hasn’t been cut this year.

We should celebrate the fact that our government realizes the gross conditions of U.S. 80 east, and we should be grateful they’ve given us $240,000 to help beautify the area. On the other hand, we should be embarrassed we need government assistance to cut the grass.

The worst part of it all is that some businesses along U.S. 80 east try hard to make a positive impression on the thousands of tourists who travel into our city each year. Their hard work doesn’t account for much when passers-by see the entire section between Craig Field and the bridge.

Those who lead our community, and those who own land in Selmont, must consider this grant a shot in the arm. Once they feel the energy from the medicine, they should cut the grass.