Thumbs up, down from the Yuma Sun
• Thumbs up to our firefighters in Yuma County, who brave incredibly challenging conditions to keep our community safe. On Tuesday, firefighters tackled back-to-back house fires in temperatures over 110 degrees. Imagine doing that while wearing all that safety gear. It’s truly a tough job, and we’re thankful for all their efforts in the field.
• Thumbs up to San Luis Preschool, which recently scored a $4.3 million state grant and received an endorsement of its early childhood education program by a national accrediting program. The funds from the grant will cover part of the costs of early learning services for pre-kindergarten children, helping to ensure that 180 children can attend free of charge to their parents.
• Thumbs up to the Yuma County Board of Supervisors, who recently finalized and adopted its 2022/23 budget. In the process, the board lowered the overall tax rate to help ease the burden on taxpayers. The supervisors noted the goal was to help offset the pain of inflation for taxpayers – which is something we all can appreciate.
• Thumbs up to the staff at Alice Byrne Elementary School for bringing in double-sided communication boards to help non-verbal or minimally verbal students. The boards feature pictures and words, which the students can point to in order to communicate what they need or want to staff. It’s a great idea, and we’re all for anything that helps students more effectively communicate.
• Thumbs down to the fact that this is July 1, the halfway point of 2022. Where did the last six months go, readers? The year is truly flying by.
• Thumbs down to the horrific incident in San Antonio in which at least 53 people died in a smuggling attempt. According to the Associated Press, 67 people were packed in the truck on a day with high temperatures and high humidity. It’s a sickening situation, and yet another example of smugglers’ lack of regard for human life.
• Thumbs down to COVID-19. We see the numbers are climbing in Yuma County – 210 new cases in the last weekly report. And while that doesn’t sound like much, it’s important to note that those are just the reported cases. Our level of community transmission is up to medium. We may be mentally done with COVID, but it isn’t done with us. Be careful out there, readers.
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.