Thumbs up, Thumbs down

Bringing closure

Thanks to a better organized, revamped new agency under the Department of Defense, families of missing soldiers finally appear to be getting the attention they deserve.

After 47 years of waiting, the retrieval mission for Air Force Maj. San D. Francisco has been authorized. The Burbank native and 1962 graduate of Kennewick High School was shot down during the Vietnam War and his family has struggled ever since to find closure.

Now it looks like government officials plan to excavate two sites in Quang Binh province sometime between now and September where witnesses have said Francisco’s remains may be located.

This is welcome news to a family who has never given up hope of bringing Francisco back home.

His sister, Terri Francisco-Ferrell, said that progress is at last being made and that the communication with families is much improved, thanks to the creation of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The new organization was formed at the beginning of last year after government officials realized its predecessor was ineffective and riddled with problems.

It is a relief to know that the new agency in charge of finding more than 400 missing soldiers who died overseas during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War is reaching out to families and doing what it can to accomplish its mission.

Americans who give their lives in battle should never be forgotten.

Spanish-speaking academy off to good start

The first Spanish-speaking class of Pasco’s citizens academy has graduated, and we hope word gets out and more participants continue to show an interest. This is a great way community tool that can bring people together.

Academies that help citizens realize what it takes to be a police officer have been around for years, but this is the first time in the Tri-Cities a course has been taught in Spanish. This first group was smaller than average, but Pasco officials plan to offer another Spanish-speaking academy in the near future and hope it attracts larger numbers. We do too.

Put down the cellphones

A recent study by the University of Washington and the University of Michigan has some advice for preoccupied parents: Your kids notice when you pay more attention to your phones than to them.

The researchers surveyed 249 families with children ages 10 to 17 and asked kids what technology rules they wished their parents would follow. A top response was that parents should put their cellphones away when a child is trying to talk to them.

Kids also suggested that parents not look at their cellphones during meals or while driving — even while stopped at red lights.

Seems like good advice. Parents should listen.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Thumbs up, Thumbs down."