Editorial Roundup: Tennessee
Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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March 18
The Johnson City Press on supporting local businesses:
If you were on West State of Franklin Road at lunch hour Tuesday, you might have noticed something missing: the usual heavy traffic.
Precautions against COVID-19 have prompted some local restaurants to restrict service to carry-out and drive-through. Others, including some of downtown’s longest standing locally owned eateries, shut down altogether.
Many of these businesses rely on patronage from East Tennessee State University, which has moved to online classes.
Meanwhile, Johnson City cinemas joined others across the country in closing. Just Jump and other recreational facilities also shut down.
The financial implications of these developments are real for all of us. Closures will have a ripple effect on other businesses and diminish the local tax base.
On a more personal level, some small business owners will have trouble making ends meet, and their employees will lack life-sustaining paychecks.
So what to do?
Please patronize those businesses that have found a way to stay open. Order carryout. Tip the staff just as you would a dining room server. Buy gift cards that you can redeem later. Give some to friends. These businesses need cashflow now.
If you know someone who’s out of work, cook for them. Buy them groceries. If you have the means, help any way you can.
Most importantly, spend your money locally. The economy here needs you. The Amazons of the world don’t need your help right now.
These closings only will be effective if people take individual precautionary measures just as seriously: Wash hands frequently and thoroughly, cough and sneeze into your elbow, avoid touching your face, stay 3 feet apart from others, avoid large gatherings and if you feel sick, stay home.
We suspect that we have just seen the tip of the iceberg on COVID-19’s health and financial effects at this stage. Hopefully these preventive measures will mitigate the damage, but we will have a long period of adjustment.
If history is any indication, our resilient nation will bounce back from this bump in the road. This, too, shall pass. The question is when. In the meantime, do your part.
Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/
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March 16
The Crossville Chronicle on being prepared for volatile weather such as tornados:
While much of the damage has been to our west, Cumberland County has confirmed a tornado touchdown in the northern part of the county last week. The EF-0 tornado brought winds as high as 85 mph to an area near Smith Rd. off Hwy. 127 N. It damaged roofs, downed trees and even destroyed some farm structures.
Some residents have raised concerns about missed alerts for the severe weather. The storms came through in the middle of the night while most people were asleep.
Accounts from Putnam County, which had a EF-4 tornado strike, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake, have many people thanking God for something that woke them up in time to seek shelter. One family said it was their dog's incessant barking that had them just awake enough to hear the alert on their phones.
Last week in Fairfield Glade, residents asked about the tornado sirens. A mechanical failure that night kept the sirens from operating as they should, and that issue has been addressed. But sirens aren't meant to warn people who are indoors. They're meant to warn people outdoors to seek shelter immediately. And they're only used when a warning has been issued — not a watch.
Televisions and phones can provide a warning, but they have to be on. Also, the storm damaged cell phone towers, which limited that system’s ability to warn people of the danger heading their way.
We join Capt. Mark Rosser in urging everyone to take steps to protect themselves and their loved ones with reliable warning systems like a NOAA weather radio.
With battery backup and proper tuning, these radios will sound an alarm when a warning is issued in this area. It isn’t just tornado warnings, either. The radio will alert you to floods, forest fires, or any other disaster that could impact you or your family’s safety.
You should also take time to review your family’s emergency plan. Where will you seek shelter during severe weather? Do you have a severe weather kit, with flashlights, radio and extra batteries? Do you have some food and water in the event you need to shelter in place for a few days?
March is known for its unpredictable, sometimes volatile, weather. Take time now to prepare.
Online: https://www.crossville-chronicle.com/
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March 15
The Johnson City Press on the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournament:
So much for that blue and gold opportunity. The East Tennessee State University men’s basketball team’s seat in the big dance was upended by anxieties over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Having won the Southern Conference tournament on Monday, the Buccaneers were assured of a NCAA tournament bid for the second time in head coach Steve Forbes’ five-season tenure. ETSU players and fans were ready for a party on the national stage. But that bubble burst three days later when the NCAA canceled the tournament.
Gatherings of all sorts are on hold across the country — from similar large sporting events to local church services and government meetings. We don’t yet know whether such event cancellations and postponements will be an effective strategy against COVID-19, but that unknown factor is precisely why organizations are being so cautious.
The economic repercussions of the precautions already are apparent, and they are likely to grow as more cases occur. Restaurants, retail stores, theaters and other businesses that rely on public access are suffering. Beyond the obvious health impact, paychecks and livelihoods are in jeopardy.
So in the grand scheme of things, a basketball tournament might seem to be the least of our worries. But the effects are all too personal for ETSU seniors Tray Boyd, Jeromy Rodriguez, Isaiah Tisdale, Joe Hughley and Lucas N’Guessan.
If Forbes has his way, these seniors — and those across the nation in similar shoes — would have the chance to play another year for another shot at the tournament.
The NCAA has extended eligibility for seniors in spring sports, whose seasons abruptly ended this week for the same reason, but as of this writing, the organization has not done the same for basketball.
It should. For most college players, playing in the tournament is akin to the Super Bowl. Few will see more glory in the NBA. Dreams have been crushed by unfortunate timing, and the NCAA should have the compassion to at least give the seniors the chance to get back in the spotlight.
And the extension should apply across the board — to all NCAA teams, not just conference and tournament champions; otherwise such teams would have an unfair advantage of experience.
Fans deserve this, too. Given how far COVID-19 seems destined to reach into our daily lives, anything joyful is worth a change in policy.
Everyone needs to take this health crisis with the proper level of concern, but we hope Americans will not live in fear in the coming weeks — possibly months. We must find ways to live, work and enjoy each other while still taking the universal precautions recommended by the CDC to prevent the virus from spreading.
Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/