Thumbs up, down from the Yuma Sun

• Thumbs up to the closure of the COVID-19 ward at Yuma Regional Medical Center. That’s a milestone that is certainly worth celebrating!

• Thumbs up to the Yuma Union High School District, which recently reported that its dropout rate is just 1.35% – one of the best in the state. For perspective, the state average is 3.3%, while the national average is 5.3%. That’s amazing – keep up the great work, YUHSD!

• Thumbs up to the Yuma Territorial Prison, which has earned second place in the USA Today competition for the best haunted destinations in the U.S.! (In our hearts, it’s still No. 1.)

• Thumbs up to Desert View Academy, which has earned a HealthyVerify certification for its efforts to develop and implement stringent protocols to protect the health of students as they return to the classroom.

• Thumbs up to all the parents out there who are striving to help their kids navigate this online world of remote learning. It’s not easy – but to the parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors who are all working on this – thank you.

• Thumbs up to a report that there has been a drop in vaping among teenagers. The Associated Press reports that just under 20% of high school students and 5% of middle school students said they were recent users of vaping products. Last year, the survey found 28% of high school students and 11% of middle school students were using such products – a welcome decline.

• Thumbs down to sports without spectators in the stands. Yes, it’s safer, and we support safety and health 100%. But it’s still a weird phenomenon. We look forward to seeing fans at sporting events again, once it’s safe to proceed.

• Thumbs down to the wildfires raging from California to Washington. Hopefully cooler, calmer weather prevails, allowing firefighters to get a better handle on the situation.

• Thumbs down to the campaign signs that have blown all over the county in this week’s winds. If you’ve got signs out there, please go check on them, fix them, reattach them … whatever it takes to clean them back up again.

Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down are compiled by the Yuma Sun editorial board, based on recent events, happenings and activities around Yuma County and the nation, and will appear on Fridays in the Yuma Sun.

Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.