In the midst of a crisis: Re-opening during COVID | Guest Opinion

We have now been living the new reality brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic for at least the last five months. While it’s unclear how much longer it will be before we are able to return to some semblance of normalcy, our lives are forever changed.

The virus has forced changes in all of our lives — our relationships with friends, family, and business associates, the way we shop, our personal income, and how we educate our children. It is resulting in significant impacts on our local and national economy. We are all desperate to get on with the challenges of reopening and recovery.

And yet, if we have learned anything during these past six months, it is that the impacts of the pandemic can only be mitigated by our own personal actions while we wait for medical science to discover ways of eradicating the disease. Until that happens, each of us is on our own to do what we can to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

As with most crises, the best way to deal with it is to find reliable information that allows us to frame our actions and responses. This Thursday’s Badger Club Forum, “In the Midst of a Crisis: Coping with Re-Opening and Recovery” is designed to help us do just that.

We’ve asked three community leaders on the front lines to give us a late-summer status report on where we are, where we’re going, and how we’re going to get there.

Karl Dye moved from Lewiston, Idaho to become the CEO of the Tri-Cities Development Council (TRIDEC) earlier this year. He’s engaged in a series of never-ending conversations with state and local officials on one hand, and businesses large and small on the other. They all seem to want answers to the same questions: When? Why? How?

With all three major local school districts deciding that it will be necessary to open the new school year with distance learning, Pasco School Superintendent Michelle Whitney will provide an update on what that will incur, how the districts will deal with it, and what it will take to return to some semblance of classroom learning again. In the meantime, school districts have had to step up and find ways to continue sometimes life-and-death services such as food distribution to students and how to deliver online learning to families who lack internet service — or even a computer.

Dr. Amy Person is the Health Officer for the Benton-Franklin Health District. She works closely with state and local officials to help find those elusive answers to a myriad of “how” questions for schools, families, and businesses.

Thursday’s forum will provide plenty of time for viewers’ questions and answers.

The Badger Club forum, “In the Midst of a Crisis: Coping with Reopening and Recovery,” will take place on Zoom from noon to 1:00 pm on Thursday, August 20. The forum is free, but registration is required. To register, please visit the Badger Club’s website: www.columbiabasinbadgers.com.