Cheers: To the Clark County Fair. Trucks tough and monstrous take over the grandstand this weekend as the fair ends its ten-day run. The Tuff Trucks Race is set for 2 and 7 p.m. today, and the Monster Trucks will roar at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Meanwhile, the typical fair trappings of food, rides and games will be available both days. There even is a pie-eating contest at 1 p.m. Sunday for the gluttons among us.
While county fairs might seem a bit of an anachronism in this age of high-tech entertainment and pocket computers, the Clark County Fair remains “Summer’s Best Party” and annually attracts more than 250,000 people. Few community events — if any — bring together so many people and so effectively reflect this region. We trust that much fun will be had by all as this year’s fair comes to a close.
Jeers: To a lack of housing. This isn’t the typical complaint about a housing shortage in Clark County; this is about the Washington State University campus in Pullman. Officials report that the largest freshman class in school history is expected to descend upon the Palouse, but there are not enough places to put everyone. A dorm that was closed in 2015 has been reopened to house students, but more than 200 upperclassmen are still waiting for a room.
This is not unique to WSU; other schools have had similar issues in recent years. But it is maddening. Imagine being the parent of a student — particularly a freshman who is excited to be entering a new stage of their life — and finding out they don’t have a place to live. That is not a very welcoming start to one’s college experience.
Sad: The death of Scott Driscoll. The youth coach and mentor, along with his wife, Kelly, used the death of his son as motivation to help others. Scott Driscoll died this weak of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 52.
After their 13-year-old son died in 2009 from an undiagnosed heart condition, the Driscolls established the Quinn Driscoll Foundation to increase awareness of the danger. The foundation works to increase education, sponsor health screenings, and provide grant money for the purchase of automatic external defibrillators. Scott Driscoll helped turn his family’s tragedy into something that benefits his community, a gift that will linger.
Cheers: To rejecting Nazis. There once was a time when just about every American could agree on one thing: Nazis are bad. So it makes sense that Amazon is removing items with Nazi or white supremacist symbols from its online marketplace.
The move follows complaints from activist groups, and it is disappointing that such complaints needed to be lodged. Preventing the sale of Nazi-themed items is not a matter of free speech; the producers are free to sell them elsewhere. It is simply a matter of standing up for what is right and telling those who barter in hate speech that they are not welcome in civilized society.
Jeers: To thieves. Woodland police report that a “skimmer” placed on an ATM at a credit union allowed criminals to access customers’ bank accounts. The skimmer at Fibre Federal Credit Union might have been in place as early as July 29 and was discovered last weekend. “We’re not sure what kind of skimmer it was,” Police Chief James Kelly said, “but the thieves moved fast and cleared out some accounts.”
Before using an ATM, authorities say, customers should examine the machine for any tampering. The plastic mouthpiece to the card intake or cash slot should not be loose or easy to remove.
