Mar 15, 2024 3 min read

HIT: We’re frequently told that one event or another is a once-in-a-lifetime experience when, in actuality, it is something that might well happen again in somebody’s lifetime. But the solar eclipse that is set to happen on Monday, April 8, lives up to the once-in-a-lifetime hype. As a story in the Observer-Reporter detailed on Tuesday, the eclipse will cover a portion of North America stretching from Mexico to Canada, and the zone where the eclipse will be total includes cities within a reasonable drive from this region, such as Erie, Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio. And even though the eclipse will not be total in this area, there promises to be some darkening of the afternoon sky. The eclipse also promises to be a tourist extravaganza for the areas within the zone of totality. Since another eclipse like this one is not due to happen around here until 2099, it will be worth clamping on the eclipse glasses on April 8 and looking toward the heavens.

MISS: Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, this week marks the fourth anniversary of something everyone should fervently hope is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. On March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency and the lockdowns that disrupted all of our lives began. We are still feeling its effects in so many ways. Many of us were lucky enough to escape catching COVID-19 until after vaccines were developed, making hospitalization and death far less likely. But there were all too many Americans who weren’t as lucky – more than 1 million deaths in the United States were attributed to COVID-19, and there are still millions of people suffering from the fatigue and brain fog that have become hallmarks of long COVID. The pandemic changed the ways many of us work, shop and go about our daily lives. And though things have largely returned to something resembling normalcy, COVID-19 is still out there – it caused about 2% of all deaths in America from Feb. 25 to March 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why staying up to date with vaccines remains critically important.

HIT: Washington County’s Local Share Account Committee deservedly got into some hot water last month over its decision not to give a $500,000 grant to Washington’s City Mission for a women’s shelter. However, the county’s commissioners have done the right thing in awarding $350,000 to the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington. The funds will be used by the community center for additional classroom space, an expansion of the kitchen and enhancements to the building’s entrance and office space. The community center has many programs that benefit families and children, and the improvements will help. According to Teresa Burroughs, the community center’s executive director, “I’m excited for what’s to come for the kids. It’s all about the children that we serve in the community. We’re able to expand our classrooms and provide additional educational offerings to the kids and that’s important. If we grow, they grow.”