Good bye — or should we say good riddance — to 2013. Welcome, 2014. We have waited 365 long days and nights for your arrival.

The start of the New Year brings with it the hopes and dreams of an erased blackboard. Hope springs eternal when the calendar morphs from one year to the next.

We would like to see some things moving forward into the new year. Elected officials throughout the county and in statewide offices will have their work cut out for them as the nation, states and municipalities grapple with still uncertain economic times. Pitching grand plans in a time of economic distress can be unwise, but we wish for some action on a few hot-button issues around Warren County.

• Make a decision on the jail. The sheriff has said repeatedly that the jail in its current form is untenable. The more-than-100-year-old building is too small and too antiquated for today’s needs. A new jail will be an expensive proposition, but for at least the last 17 years each grand jury has recommended a new facility. Stop dithering and make a decision. Yay. Nay. Whatever. Just make a decision.

• The on-again, off-again saga of the recreational complex is vexing. The current rec facility, like the jail, is antiquated. Other towns our size and smaller have made a commitment to building a first-class recreation facility and they have gotten it done. For some reason, our leaders love to accept grand, pie-in-the-sky plans with few results. Again, figure something out and decide if Vicksburg will be a recreation destination or not. Our one big baseball tournament — the Governor’s Cup — eventually will have better offers from cities with better facilities. It would be a shame to lose that tournament, but how much longer can Halls Ferry Park handle it?

• Crime is still a huge challenge. Crime seems to be done across the board and that is mostly due to a collaborative law enforcement-public effort. Drugs continue to plague our community and the one thing that cannot be done is for the people to admit defeat and cower in fear. Take back the streets and neighborhoods from those who sully this town’s name and reputation.

• Education must be improved on all levels. The local schools need to be a drawing point for the best and brightest. The city should not be a stopover for work, only to leave for areas with more complete schools.

• Quality of life needs to improve for us to effectively retain the best and brightest that work in our community. Far too many people work here and commute to other communities outside our county to live, attracted mostly by high performing schools, lower crime rates and overall quality of life.

More work will need to be done in 2014. We must remember to act locally and tackle the problems that are affecting us most right here.

If we all come together to do that, 2014 could be a banner year in Warren County.

Happy New Year.