A tip of the hat to the Safe Routes to School grant program for providing funding for two needed projects that will help protect pedestrians in Umatilla County.

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced $28.3 million in projects around the state recently, including sidewalks and visibility improvements around Nixyaawii Community School in Mission and sidewalks and a crosswalk with a flashing beacon on Southwest 11th Street in Hermiston.

The location of the Hermiston project, in particular, has seen two fatalities in the past five years as pedestrians leaving Hacienda West Apartments on foot are forced to choose between walking along a narrow gravel shoulder or crossing the busy street in the middle of the block. Providing both a sidewalk and safe crossing there should help prevent future tragedy.

A kick in the pants to the lack of relief for the restaurant industry during this pandemic. According to the National Restaurant Association, 17% of restaurants in the United States — more than 110,000 establishments — have closed since March.

It has been important during the pandemic to have measures that help reduce the spread of COVID-19, but if certain industries are bearing the brunt of that responsibility they should also be seeing more assistance to get through it. We hope to see ongoing CARES Act funds prioritize businesses hit hardest by restrictions, and hope Congress comes through for them as it considers additional aid to businesses.

A tip of the hat to those donating to charity during this holiday season, when need is up and resources are down.

Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann posted on social media this week urging people to donate to Hermiston’s Christmas Express program, which is currently at only 20% of its usual canned food collection levels due to schools being unable to host the same type of food drives as in past years. We suspect many other holiday giving efforts have been similarly hamstrung as their usual methods for urging people to give have been shut down.

Please, if you have the means, consider donating more than usual to local collections of canned food, gifts, winter coats and other items. Don’t let charitable giving be “out of sight and out of mind” this year.