FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: A Year Of “Rebuilding”

By VERNON ROBISON

There are times, in the world of high school sports, when a coach loses a large group of his best players to graduation. Nothing wrong with it – that is just the nature of the job. No matter how well the coach trains his/her athletes, no matter how hard the kids work to gain excellence, eventually the end of the senior year comes and they move on to something else. And once in a while it is a whole group of star players that is suddenly gone leaving a gaping hole in the team for the next year. I imagine that sense of loss lingers a while.

But in those circumstances, when the next season comes around, a good coach wishing to keep a positive attitude will say that his/her program is facing a “rebuilding year.” That is to say, “Be patient with us this year. We have some holes to fill. But we will be back!”

The year 2021 might be seen as just such a “rebuilding year” for our communities. There were a lot of holes left by the pandemic year of 2020. We experienced a lot of loss as individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities during the pandemic. Last year at this time, most of us were going through some stage of grief or another; whether we recognized it or not; because of that lost year.
But here we are a year later. And throughout 2021, our communities did what any healthy person would do who has faced a painful loss: we have moved forward.

Early in 2021 we saw the introduction of the vaccines. Many of the people who were most at risk for COVID received the jab at various points throughout the year. And that has allowed most of the events and observances that bring our communities together to resume again in 2021. Thank goodness!

Gradually we have seen a return to traditional academic schedules at area schools. We have had a return to (and a “rebuilding” of) high school sports programs. There has been a return to business as usual, for the most part, for our local shops, stores and service providers. Community parades, ceremonies, celebrations, festivals, fundraisers, luncheons, meetings and more have resumed.

Of course, we have a little way to go still. The omicron variant has flared this winter causing a return of health restrictions in some parts of the country. We still have a lot of holes to fill. Many of those are particularly painful because they are people – friends, neighbors and loved ones – who have been lost to the ravages of the virus. COVID hasn’t just been a “global” pandemic. It has also taken a very local toll and these folks will be deeply missed.

Still, it is hard to imagine the world ever going back to where we were in late March and April of 2020 when everything came to a halt. We have done a lot of rebuilding since then. And we will continue to do so, just like a sports team working its way back to the top again. So be patient for a season. We will be back again.

And now, as is my end-of-year tradition, I’d like to express appreciation to those bold readers who have contributed to The Progress Opinion Page over the past year. Heaven knows, there have been ample issues out there on which to comment in this rebuilding 2021 year.

This page has always been set aside for our readers to reflect their own views on the community issues of the day. And regardless of what one may think about the ideas expressed here, if this page has caused folks to think, and maybe even discuss, then I believe it has served its noble purpose.

The Progress published nearly 40 letters to the editor during 2021. The majority of those letters were written by local folks; with a few coming from further afield. In this social media-driven world of rapid fire Twitter battles and round-the-clock online political combat, I believe there is still a need for the ‘in-print’ letter to the editor. It offers readers a chance to take some time, consider a position, and put down ideas that are well thought-out and carefully worded — and that will ultimately stand on the record for much longer than the 5 minute lifespan of the average social media post. That is healthy public discourse and I’m glad that there are still readers out there that engage in this time-honored practice.

The letter writers appearing in print on this page during 2021 included: Sandy Raia (5), John Williams, Paul Constantino (4), John Rosen, Brian Burris, Joshlyn Wheeler, Esther Ramos (4), Kris Baker, Lisa Childs, Jimmy Wike, Michael Juenger, Val Sharp, Brent Hauver, Fred Romero (2), James Wiggins (5), Lisa Good, Sheldon Worley, Patrick O’Meara, Hank Fishman, Lawrence Pederson, Angela La Mont, F.G. Woessner, Moe Horne and Steve Dorsey.

Letters to the editor are always welcome on issues of current public interest. They may be sent via email to editor@mvprogress.com or, if necessary, the old fashioned way to The Progress, PO BOX 430, Overton, NV 89040.

Not surprisingly, though, the number of letters formally submitted for publication has decreased in recent years. More people are using online media to react to local issues. Some folks prefer the ability to instantly post comments and get responses about items on our website. We welcome this more immediate online outlet and, occasionally, have even pulled some of these posts and published them as letters in our print edition.

Unfortunately, we have reached the point where the list of online commenters is far too long to publish every name. The list included a total of 547 different commenters in 2021 alone, some of whom posted comments multiple times throughout the year.

We have also been pleased to publish extended views in longer op-ed columns that are more detailed than a typical letter to the editor can be. Some of these have come from our readers. Others have come from experts in various fields. These have added depth to The Progress Opinion page. We recognize the following for their contributions in these articles: Brynlin Thornley, Karen Budd-Falen (3), Brian Burris, Annie Black, Cairee Johnson, Wes Boger, Jim Vallet, Craig Higgens, and Katherine Merck,.

Finally, I would make my annual tip-of-the-hat to my friend Dr. Larry Moses for his tremendous labor of love in contributing his weekly column “No One Asked Me But…”. This remarkable body of work, flowing from the brilliant mind of Doc Moses, is now in its 15th year.

Doc keeps joking about being surprised that the editor of The Progress hasn’t long ago “gotten tired” of his “ramblings” and told him to stop contributing. But I fear that, in saying this, he over-estimates the power of the editor over his readership.

With how widely read, highly anticipated, well-loved Dr. Moses’ column is, I fear it would be the editor who would be shown the door long before Doc ever was.

In any case, we will gladly continue publishing Doc’s column for as long as he contributes it. The Progress just wouldn’t be the same without Doc Moses.

Now, going forward: as The Progress continues its mission of covering the Moapa and Virgin Valley communities like no one else, we look forward each week to hearing from our readers. Your feedback and viewpoints put wind in our sails and keep us on course.

To be successful, The Progress truly needs to hear the unique and valued perspectives of its readers on the news of the day. And we even hope, when necessary, to hear your criticisms and complaints of how we cover them.

In any case, please don’t keep your opinions to yourselves! They are always welcome right here in your hometown newspaper.