Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
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May 5
The Cullman Times on celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week:
This is Teacher Appreciation Week, and if ever there was a time we realized how much we appreciate teachers, it is now. In-person classes came to an abrupt end on March 13 as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, but teachers did not stop educating students or caring for their welfare.
Teachers rolled out online learning plans, made sure students had the technology to access the lessons and handed out meals for students. This new normal is not ideal, but teachers, parents and students have made the best of it.
We appreciate teachers not just for the lessons they teach, but for the emotional support they provide to their students. Just about everyone has a story or stories of the teachers who impacted their lives. These are the teachers who push students to be better when they see unreached potential, but who also offer care and comfort when it is needed most.
For some children, schools are where they know they’re safe from abusive or dysfunctional home lives. Routines and schedules are important to all children, and this disruption of the school year is likely to have lasting impact. In announcing schools may start slowly resuming activities this summer, Alabama State School Superintendent Eric Mackey also warned that when classes do resume, it’s likely teachers will be dealing with students who have been traumatized.
The shutdown of the schools has been hard on teachers, as well. They worry about their students’ welfare. They hope they’ve provided enough academic support and guidance to get each child to the next grade level. They miss “their” kids.
We ask a lot of our teachers: educate, love, protect, guide and counsel our children. On top of that, there are the administrative tasks, the hours of grading and the classroom supplies teachers pay for out of their own pockets. As many parents are finding out now, it takes a very special person to be a teacher.
So to all the teachers, we want you to know that you are appreciated. Thank you.
Online: https://www.cullmantimes.com
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May 1
The Gadsden Times on taking precautions as the state begins to open up:
You can now spend money at more places in Gadsden, Etowah County and the rest of Alabama.
You can again have an elective medical procedure done.
You can jump in the car, drive south and in a few hours be wriggling your toes in the sands of the state’s beaches.
However, Gov. Kay Ivey’s easing of restrictions to control the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 isn’t anywhere close to a “return to normal.” So label us killjoys if you will, but there’s no need for people to be channeling William Wallace and screaming “FREEDOM!”
Ivey’s new order allows non-essential businesses, which were shut down for nearly a month, to re-open with limits on how many customers can shop at once (half capacity) to ensure sufficient social distancing with stringent safety and sanitary procedures in place.
It restarts elective medical procedures, again with stringent safeguards attached.
It reopens the beaches to groups of 10 people or less with the requirement that groups from different households follow the 6-foot social distancing standard.
For the time being - and we predict some movement in a couple of weeks - restaurants are still limited to take-out, curbside service and delivery, and businesses like gyms, entertainment venues, barber shops and hair salons remain shuttered. Churches also remain limited to drive-in or online services.
We have long stressed that this moment was inevitable, even as we have strongly, even passionately called on local residents to stay home unless they absolutely must go out, and to abide by social distancing protocols and take other precautions should they have to circulate in public.
Keeping the economy locked down until there’s a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, or until any chance of catching it has been erased, is a non-starter. We acknowledge there’s been a shifting of the goal posts in that direction, from the original motivation of “flattening the curve” to keep medical facilities from being overwhelmed to keeping people from catching the virus, and that opening things back up carries risks.
However, no one can say Ivey rushed into this move, as other governors in the region have been accused of doing. We’re on board with her strategy to focus entirely on Alabama’s situation, not what’s happening elsewhere in the U.S. or the Southeast, and to reopen things in a slow, phased fashion instead of just yelling “y’all come.”
We understand the frustrations and impatience of owners of businesses that remain shut down or limited in what they can do, who have seen their income streams decimated and are struggling to access the federal aid in place to help them stay afloat. We’ll note that close-contact services are inherently a different animal than retail stores, requiring the most stringent safety protocols, and we trust the delay is being used to get those locked in and will be both as brief and as fair as possible to those involved.
Some businesses are choosing not to reopen immediately, just as folks who are at risk for serious problems from COVID-19 are opting to remain hunkered down. (In some cases, the latter is the reason for the former.)
Those decisions should be respected rather than ridiculed as cowardice. As with Ivey focusing exclusively on Alabama, people have to make the right decisions for their individual situations.
We’ll also be interested in seeing the level of traffic the stores get both initially and moving forward - how people balance their fear and uneasiness about the virus against the urge to get out of the house.
Above all, we want to stress that the responsibility for making this “work” - for mitigating the risk of COVID-19 even if it can’t be eliminated - doesn’t just belong to the business owners.
They can institute a manual full of safety protocols, but they’ll be useless if shoppers act like a “back to normal” switch has been flipped and think they can ignore those measures.
So behave yourselves (and mask up) if you choose to go shopping. Make it easier on everyone.
Online: https://www.gadsdentimes.com
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April 22
Opelika-Auburn News on safe driving in work zones:
It’s frustrating for most drivers when they’re in a hurry and then have to slow down to enter an orange-barreled, flashing-sign, flag-waving highway “work zone.”
For the highway workers, however, it isn’t frustration they face; it’s danger.
And ditto for drivers, more than most suspect.
Work-zone crashes and fatalities on Alabama roads are up, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation, which this week joined efforts to recognize National Work Zone Awareness Week.
It’s worth the reminder to slow down in these zones, both for your safety and that of the workers.
“During the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, when the shipment of essential goods is vital, ALDOT employees are working hard to advance the maintenance and construction that’s required for our roads,” said Allison Green, Drive Safe Alabama coordinator, ALDOT. “Today and every day, we ask drivers to drive alert around work zones and slow down to make sure the people taking care of our roads get home safely.”
During 2018, there were 3,810 work zone crashes in Alabama, resulting in 34 fatalities and 1,155 injuries.
Nationwide, 754 people died in roadway work zone crashes in 2018.
A common misconception is that most of those killed in work-zone crashes are workers, according to ALDOT. National statistics show that 4 out of every 5 of those killed are motorists.
ALDOT offers these tips for driving safely in work zones:
Drive alert. Don’t drive distracted by texting, eating or other activities that take your hands off the wheel. Look for highway workers, reduced speed limits and narrow driving lanes.
Slow down. Don’t drive beyond the posted speed limit through the work zone. Keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you.
Don’t tailgate. Watch for large trucks. Maintain a safe distance on all sides of your vehicle, so that you don’t clip a nearby vehicle and cause that vehicle to also crash into the work zone.
Sounds like good advice all drivers should practice.
Online: https://www.oanow.com
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