Waynesboro could have waited a few weeks, at least, before just shutting down the Summer Extravaganza.
Sure, from what we know right now, on May 1, the mid-July event wasn’t going to be remotely likely, given the ongoing lockdown order from Gov. Ralph Northam, but we’re literally learning more about COVID-19 every hour of every day.
And there are lots of hours and lots of days between now and July.
The city cast the decision to shutter Extravaganza not as a public health move, but rather a fiscal one, citing the impact of the Northam lockdown on city revenues.
You’d no doubt be able to find donors willing to partner with the city on at least a scaled-back event, even just a fireworks show, and you could put on a fireworks show and have people follow whatever social-distancing guidelines would be in place in July.
Or you could push the event back a week, a couple weeks, a few weeks, whatever.
Or you could just shut it down, and add to the bad news that’s all around.
This, on top of announcing that the War Memorial Pool at Ridgeview Park will also be closed for the summer, again, jumping the gun a bit.
Guess who feels that one more?
Think: the kids who don’t have pools of their own in their backyards.
The 60 percent-plus who are on free and reduced lunch in our school systems.
We could have, again, waited to see what the public health situation would be in a few weeks, put something in place based on the guidelines then in place, gone to the community seeking assistance in terms of the dollars and sense.
Instead, more bad news.
Authority figures seem to revel in relaying bad news these days.
A Zoom webinar on the history of FDR’s Fireside Chats might do us all some good.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
