Page 4 - 4-23-20 MVT e-edition

Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Probably the most appropriate way to begin this week's column is with a personal note of gratitude to those loyal — and, in many cases, longtime — readers of The Mid-Valley Times. That certainly includes those of you who were subscribers to The Reedley Exponent, The Sanger Herald and The Dinuba Sentinel and then hung with us through the transition to The Times.
Where do we go from here?
Just a few months ago, the idea of re-opening a nation, a state or a community was as far from our minds as... well, closing one.
Who’d have thought we would enter the spring of 2020 in uncharted territory, facing what could be the great pan- demic of our time? Yet, here weare—inthemiddleofa global crisis the likes of which may have never been seen be- fore.
By now, I’m sure you may be like a lot of Americans (and many other nationalities) who are eager to get back to a nor- mal life. By now, I’m sure you may also realize that our road to "normal" may take a little longer than we would prefer. By now, I hope you’re ok with that.
I think it’s helpful to con- sider history’s lessons when approaching new world events. If we look at the last great pandemic of modern his- tory we would be best advised to proceed with caution. The "Spanish Flu", as it was called (ironically, it was first detect- ed in the United States) took the world by storm shortly after the First World War. By conservative estimates, the flu pandemic of 1918 took the lives of more than 50 million
people, more than both world wars combined.
It came in three waves. The first wave came in the spring of 1918 and largely died out in the summer but returned with a vengeance in the fall of the same year. It made a re- surgence in the winter but the vast majority of deaths came in the second wave.
We have at our disposal his- tory’s lessons. We also have at our disposal experts who truly understand the ramifications of a novel virus like the CO- VID-19 Coronavirus. Those lessons and experts are the reasons we are currently tak- ing measures for one common purpose – to save lives.
When all is said in done, I truly believe the numbers will be far from that of the last great pandemic. And if that’s the case, it would be foolish to claim that those numbers reflect that there was never a need for such mitigation. In fact, the numbers would speak to the contrary and reflect the effects of taking proper mea- sures.
But we can only get there if we proceed with caution, because complacency in the midst of a pandemic, as his- tory shows, can be disastrous.
We all want this to be over and we want it to be over soon.
But the real-
ity is, short of
a miracle vac-
cine in the near
future, our
best over-the-
hill moment is
heard immu-
nity, something
experts believe won’t happen for several months, perhaps over a year.
We have grown accustomed to the fast-paced life and are used to a social structure that is akin to a seven-lane freeway, always on the move and mov- ing in high volume. But for the time being, our road to normal will be more like small-town life. It’ll be a slower pace. There will be plenty of stop signs along the way and even when we do get going we may still encounter some red lights here and there.
But that is the road we’re on. And it’s the road to where we’re going. It may take us a little while longer for us to get there than we would like, and it may be bumpy from time to time, but the important thing is that we get there as safely as possible.
Who knows? The journey may serve us well.
Rick Curiel is Sanger editor for The Times.
Thursday, April 23, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION A thank you for longtime
and continued support
This may be a long road back to ‘normal’
Rick Curiel
Fred Hall
With the advent of social media and their trivialized approach to what is important in our lives. Newspaper reporters continue to report the news and use a byline to identify who is responsible. Other outlets have the luxury of simply throwing something against the wall and see if it sticks. Who cares if it is outrageous or a flat our lie because the “poster” doesn't have to use their real name? It has become increasingly difficult to economically “weather the storm.”
As a sidebar, I've been doing this since 1963 and can't remember any medical outbreak, financial col- lapse or war that even approached the current mess in which we all find ourselves.
Recently, we were forced to make the most diffi- cult decision anyone can ever make. It became nec- essary to furlough several employees. We expect to recall those individuals shortly, but must ask your un- derstanding and tolerance while we operate extremely short-handed.
We believe strongly that every small community deserves a source of news covering local government, local schools, community events, happenings with civic clubs and, last but certainly not least, sports involving our kids and young adults. We work hard every day, every week to provide you with the freshest, most con- cise presentation of events that become a part of this community's history. Again, thank you! Were it not for you, we wouldn't be here.
Let's just be honest with ourselves for a little while. We live in the richest, most powerful country in the world and the only thing required to bring that nation to its knees is a new illness, a press corps hungry for readership and ratings points by spreading fear, and bu- reaucrats using that mix to gain even more power over the lives of their constituency. Guess what. It worked.
We are on the precipice of the greatest economic damage exacted on the world and the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The saddest part of that statement is that we allowed it to happen by sitting silently by while there was a panic being whipped up by a self-serving group of media and bu- reaucrats. All of this being done using faulty findings gathered from incorrect models.
Further exacerbating an ugly situation is the sight of a political party using this catastrophe to damage and impugn a sitting president.
Ironically, in this case, it appears that the country of origin for COVID-19 — that would be China — is going to be the one to gather profits from the current state of hysteria. Even now, there are Chinese-built drones overflying many of our Eastern cities to spy on citi- zens with the support of mayors and governors. We're being told that the devices are collecting no data but, given past performances by the Chinese government, I'll leave the conclusion to you on that one.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made a deal with a marginal Chinese company to supply our state with $2 billion worth of personal protection gear. Given virtual carte blanche by our legislature, we have $7 billion to spend — apparently with few or no controls attached. Both products — the masks and drones — are being supplied by companies with shadowy pasts. Want to get rich? Link yourself to an American politician!
Valley doing a decent job dealing with COVID-19, but challenges still ahead
As we head into week six of sheltering in place (or attempt- ing to as best as possible) in the Central Valley and California, you have to wonder if it's the light at the end of a month-long plus tunnel or an approach- ing train. Here in Mid Valley Times country, we seem to be a little bit above average when it comes to positive cases of COVID-19.
But there are disturbing signs. Sanger, Parlier and Reedley all are into double fig- ures among individually count- ed communities while Dinuba has had notable cases including a death. Also in Tulare County, the outbreak in two of the re- gion's nursing homes certainly is unsettling. And in all loca-
tions, the number of positive cases is likely to increase as more actual testing for the vi- rus is done.
Still, the Valley has man- aged to keep those numbers pretty well in line compared to more densely-populated re- gions in the state. While there are the occasional glaring ex- ceptions, I have noticed peo- ple seem to be pretty dedicat- ed in staying home as much as possible and, when out, prac- ticing relatively good social distancing.
This was supposed to be a week where positive cases and perhaps serious illnesses could see a spike, and the num- bers slowly are creeping up to where it could be a possibility.
I see the desire
and necessity of
regaining some
type of normal
— especially
for our family
and neighbors
who find them-
selves out of
work, either temporarily or on a permanent basis for a par- ticular job.
To all our loyal readers and neighbors, stay safe and healthy out there. This truly is a situation where we hope time —andnottoomuchofit— heals a considerable physical, financial and emotional wound.
Jon Earnest is Reedley edi- tor for The Times.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Letters Policy
MID VALLEY TIMES invites letters from the public on any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should be 350 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed, submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Editor, Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
QUOTE
“Laughter and
tears are both responses to frus- tration and ex- haustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”
— Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)
Have an opinion? Want to share it?
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Jon Earnest