A rose to Main Street Columbus for making sure a cancelled Christmas event doesn’t go entirely for naught. Main Street Director Barbara Bigelow announced that shoppers in downtown Columbus have an opportunity to win one of two grand prizes totaling $1,000 in gift certificates. It starts with picking up a “Passport to Whoville” at any of 16 participating downtown businesses. The passport project was originally to be part of a Dec. 4 “Grinch Fest in Whoville” event. The fest, however, was canceled due to rising COVID-19 concerns. We applaud Main Street’s efforts to encourage residents to do their shopping in our locally-owned downtown businesses.
A rose to 4-County Electric Power Association for its decision to allow public access to its wifi hotspot from its parking lot on South Frontage Road just east the Highway 793 (airport) exit. For those without access to high-speed internet, especially students, access through 4-County provides an important service. The decision comes after 4-County announced its plans to provide broadband service to its 48,000-plus customers in September. 4-County CEO Brian Clark said 4-County hopes to extend the free access to other areas as well. We applaud 4-County for its decision to share this important resource with the public.
A thorn to District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders who attended the Dec. 7 supervisors meeting despite being aware that he may have been exposed to COVID-19 from fellow supervisor John Holliman. Sanders had lunch with Holliman on Friday prior to the meeting. Holliman tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday and did not attend Monday’s meeting. Sanders said he did not feel compelled to stay away from the meeting because both men wore masks and maintained six-feet of social distancing during the lunch. It is important to remember, however, that both measures are precautions and do not prevent transmission of the virus. At a time when the virus is eclipsing records for numbers of cases and deaths, this was not a chance worth taking. Sanders should have either skipped the meeting or participated via phone, something many local governments have been doing since the pandemic started. Now is not the time to be lax on guarding against the virus.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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