Voting was over last week and the electioneering for it too.

            Whether your candidate won or not; whether you're happy with the outcome or not; it is time for all those responsible to do the responsible thing – pick up the political signs and make the roadways a little neater again.

            To all candidates, party officials, and candidate supporters, picking up what you laid down is the responsible thing to do.

            How many of you sign-placers carry the environmentally friendly banner?  If you claim to be, then remember where you put them before the election and pick them up soon after.

            Each year this newspaper fields a number of calls expressing disgust at the lack of vigor in removing the election placards from the side of the roads.  The signs, for the most part, have been cleaned up but around here, but there is still a smattering of forgotten ones along the more rural areas.

            If the sight of the election "after-signs" doesn't bother you, think about the sign being picked up by a good wind and dropped in a nearby field, the metal holder just waiting for the blades of the next lawnmower or piece of farmer's equipment to get wrapped around.

            You wouldn't like it, would you?  Guess what?  Neither do they.

            Or how about one of those metal holders making its way onto the road causing a flat tire or worse.

            Most of the orphan signs are in a "right-of-way" and just forgotten. 

            In the hub-bub of the current political climate and the "who's going to do what to whom when they take office" mentality, don't forget to clean up those signs.  Heck, many of the candidates can use them in the next election and save a few campaign bucks.

            So, take responsibility for those signs – especially if your name is on it, or your political party's name is on it.

            After the election, get rid of them.