As school districts across the lower valley begin developing school reopening plans through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI), the Department of Health, and the Department of Labor and Industry – the most important part will include the public’s involvement, which is vital to the success in restarting campuses and extracurricular activities.

The power of communications to influence positive change has been witnessed in the inexcusable and violent death of George Floyd on May 25 – the social impact will be remembered for generations to come and could ultimately result in sweeping reforms in the nation’s justice system.

The social, emotional and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which continue to place stressful influences upon community residents’ well-being are raising awareness for mental healthcare and growing support for more services in the lower valley.

We are more than one week into Governor Jay Inslee’s phased Smart Start planned approach, which is proceeding with a slow and cautious tactic to reopen the state’s economy while making it clear that he will not sacrifice lives in order to save jobs – using the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 data dashboard data to keep in place or ease Stay Home, Stay Healthy restrictions.

Restarting the economy after shutting it down almost overnight is going to be more of a challenge – an extremely complicated and gradual process, which is urgently required to kickstart our reopening activities for driving us to move onward in a positive and safe direction.

Our way of life in the lower valley has been turned upside down and inside out, creating an environment of uncertainty as we remain focused on the duties at hand – working together and making personal sacrifices to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s hard not to become anxious as we all work our way through the current coronavirus-induced Stay Home, Stay Healthy orders, now coupled with the latest school closure mandate recently issued by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Social distancing rules are the present-day reality in which we all live — from the lower valley to the west side, assimilating to the Stay Home order by only going out for essential groceries at the Safeway or Walmart.

Instead of obsessing over how many rolls of toilet paper we need to have on hand to carry out normal bathroom operations or compulsive impulse shopping at the grocery store, our immediate focus should be clearly on slowing down the spread of the COVID-19 disease and conducting social distancing.

Getting an accurate count on the homelessness epidemic should be stitched onto the fabric of every city and town in Yakima county and this requires our government officials and community leaders to take a leadership role in this social movement.

Constructing brand new buildings and facilities is only a part of the learning equation for a thriving school district. Having a sound and varied curriculum, along with a safe environment is the other half.

This holiday season has Republican and Democrat legislators from Washington, D.C. to Washington state addressing what constitutes articles for abuse of power and obstruction of justice, and as they battle out the unfolding political drama on Capitol Hill, which will resume after the New Year – here in the lower valley, the ongoing argument about open and accountable government was finally adopted on the Thursday, December 19 declaration by the state Supreme Court ruling that legislators are subject to the state Public Records Act.

As the holiday season is upon us, an assortment of colorful glowing ornaments beaming throughout the lower valley’s wintery and foggy landscape keeps the festive spirit alive for everyone to enjoy – with this in mind, remember to use and turn on your vehicle’s headlights at any time when conditions appear to be less than ideal for not only seeing beyond the steering wheel, but in order to be seen by other people and vehicles.

When people voice their complaints about the voting process or how one vote doesn’t make a difference, they should take a second look at the recent Yakima County city council races - three of those elections were too close to call; requiring a recount, while two of them were separated by only one ballot.

Attending a city council meeting to address public issues of concerns should result in a sense of accomplishment that the statements expresses are heard and that the matter be noted for possible follow up and community feedback.