Columns

Editor’s note: On March 5, a Galax fire claimed the lives of three children, one at the scene and two who passed away later. Police and firefighters made valiant attempts to rescue the children, without any protective gear, but were overcome by flames and smoke. We share the sentiment expressed in Rick Clark’s moving statement, and commend them for their bravery and sacrifice. We wish them well as they cope with the aftermath of this tragedy.

By Rick Clark, chief of the Galax Police Department

Doing everything you can to avoid spreading disease is among the most basic requirements of membership in a civil society. It has been for millennia.

Trying to prevent the transmission of pathogens explains the laws in Leviticus, the development of modern sewer systems and the use of quarantine to stem epidemics.

Throughout history, a person’s duty to prevent the spread of disease to his neighbors has been so fundamental that it has been largely uncontroversial. Then came modern America, which is in the middle of an entirely preventable measles outbreak.

Last week marked a milestone in an ongoing fight to save the Southwest Virginia Training Center — one of five state facilities for the developmentally and intellectually disabled.

Del. Jeff Campbell filed House Bill 1614, which seeks to prohibit the closure of the Hillsville facility, along with the Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake. So far, the bill has made its way to the House of Delegates’ Committee on Appropriations.

John Edgecombe Jr. is president of the National Newspaper Association and publisher of The Nebraska Signal in Geneva, Neb.

A friend of mine from South Dakota noted that the U.S. Postal Service delivered a lump of coal to many small towns last Christmas when it proceeded to eliminate overnight mail in most of the nation in 2015.

That was a good description. USPS will slow delivery by one day for first class and periodicals mail. Many members of Congress have asked it to hold off. But USPS is plowing ahead.