Let’s begin with a big ole JEERS to the federal government, which might shutdown, yadda yadda yadda. This is getting real old, kids. Behave yourselves and play nice already. Sheez!
STOP Mr./Ms./Mx. Postman, because land use changes may be coming our way. As required by the state, if you have property and the use of your land may be restricted in some new and fanciful manner, the city has to let you know. So look through the mail extra careful these coming weeks. The letters are in the mail. [It’s so nice to get something other than sales flyers, isn’t it?]
CHEERS for the researchers still slogging forward with new COVID news. The latest? Symptoms of this fancypants new virus can recur for months after diagnosis. Yeppers, 36% of all people who get this illness will continue to have distressing, life-altering, curmudgeonly persistent health issues up to six months after having a positive test. Even the doctor – aka Dr. Anthony Fauci – agrees that long haul COVID is a thing that should warrant a look.
CHEERS for Benton County… in general, yes, but also because the unemployment rate has continued to decline and is now at 3.8% which is nearly normal. Keep up the good work!
DOUBLEPLUS CHEERS for Corvallis schools. The kids have been back for nearly a month now, and there have only been a total of 36 cases of COVID to date. This is better than anyone could ask for. Thank you teachers, staff, and board members for keeping the pandemic in the forefront and staying vigilant.
SOOOO, you’re new to Corvallis and going to the big ivy-covered-ish buildings in the middle-ish part of town, but you really need a COVID test ‘cause you didn’t get the vaccines yet, and where to go? Right? Well, go to the LaSells Stewart Center over on 26th Street. And don’t forget, you have to be tested at the school unless you are one of the 93% of students who got the vaccine. [How many more times do we have to say vaccine in this column before the pandemic is under control? The editors are taking bets.]
CHEERS for Gov. Kate Brown. Booster shots are here at last, and will be available to anyone who lands in the “probably needs one” category. This means for all of you who are 65 or older, who live in a care facility, who are 18 or older and have an underlying medical condition, or who are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 – GO, GO NOW, RUN like the wind to get this third jab in the arm to protect yourselves. It’s not going to be for all of us, but the rest of us “two jabs only” crowd won’t hold grudges. [pinky swear]
TAKE US OUT TO THE BALL GAME because the Beavs are taking on the Roadrunners today for a doubleheader. It starts at 1:00 and ends at who-the-heck-knows-o’clock, ‘cause that’s how baseball is played. So hop, drive, skip, or bus your way over to Goss Stadium in time for the seventh inning strrrreeeeetch.
WHOOPS of excitement for Mary Bradshaw’s home in Elkhorn. It has proven to be not just fireproof, but wildfire proof! When this home was built, they used “home hardening measures” including concrete siding which is relatively fire resistant, a cement porch – also fire resistant, a metal roof, no gutters to hold onto those pesky leaves and twigs, no roof air vents – meaning no way for fire to get inside, and no vegetation near the house to dry out and light up. [Whew! Long list] Anyhoo, it all worked, because her house was left standing, its blue roofline shining out amongst the scarred black trees.
We’ve been BOOING and JEERING them for a few weeks, but now we’re gonna let out a hollering, hissy fit of sputtering YUCK at the Newberg School Board, because they made it official. They have banned Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride shirts, flags, and all of the other detritus that kids might bring with them to school.
Let’s all take a minute to remember what these two “political” efforts are about. Do all lives matter? Only if we can treat the People of Color in our communities with fairness and equality, which we don’t yet do, so we need to remind some folks that Black Lives really do Matter! Now, let’s all stroll back to the olden days [not that olden BTW] when gay men, lesbian women, and transgender people were not only forced to hide their true selves but to marry the opposite sex in order to “look normal.” So, if our children are to live their best and truest lives, then we need to support people who are Lesbian Bi Gay Trans Queer and all the rest. These are not political issues. These are People Issues!
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com