Two WWII veterans were honored for their service by Dream Flights

Monday morning I had the deep privilege to meet two of Weiser’s finest citizens, LaDell Merk and Hugh Mayse, who are both World War II veterans and residents of the Cottages. Both men served in the Pacific Theater; LaDell as the coxswain to an admiral, Hugh served as the nose-gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
 On Monday morning, an organization called Dream Flights gave a 20-minute ride in a WWII era Stearman trainer plane to each of these gentlemen in a tribute to their service.
 I’m sure you will be able to read or watch all about it in another article here in the paper or on the web since both Philip Janquart and Alex Chavarria were there.
 Both men were teenagers when they entered the service. Hugh was just 15 years old. (He sort-of entered a higher number on his enlistment papers.) LaDell told me that he was never a hero. His service was in meeting the needs of an admiral. I think Hugh, though he didn’t say this, showed a hero’s courage every time he went on a mission in just doing his job.
 Neither man had a high position. They were not the ones planning the battles, leading the war, or developing the means to carry it out. They were the ordinary men tasked with actually carrying out the orders and the missions. But it took everyone, with all of their myriad duties, from the lead generals and admirals at the top to the privates and seamen at the bottom working together to successfully defeat the fascist threat of world dominance.
 It is hard for us, 80-years later, to realize the magnitude of the threat during WWII. It is also hard to realize the debt we owe to LaDell and Hugh and to their fellow veterans. Monday’s flight was a good gesture.
 Now we need to move on to another subject that I was hoping would not have to be addressed again – COVID-19. Prior to Tuesday, Aug. 10, last week, Washington County had been averaging one or two cases every two weeks. Sometimes we would go around 15 days without a single incidence.
 The most recent information as of the time of this writing is indicating that cases are sharply spiking higher. From Tuesday, Aug. 10 through Friday, Aug. 13, Washington County had 19 new cases in just a 4-day span.
 Southwest District Health shows that Washington County is now 42.1 percent vaccinated. If you have been on the fence about getting vaccinated, now would be a good time. According to the CDC, the Delta variant, which Southwest District Health says is the predominant strain in our area now, is twice as infectious as the original virus. Also, the district health’s information is indicating that originally the amount of time the illness lasted was averaged at 10 days. The new strain is averaging 19 days.
 Governor Little last Thursday issued a press release stating that since January 1, 2021 over 98 percent of all new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been with unvaccinated individuals. Some of the other statistics were equally interesting. Since May 15, 2021:
 Unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely to contract the virus.
 Unvaccinated people were 13 times more likely to be hospitalized.
 Unvaccinated people were eight times more likely to die as a result of the virus.
 So, if you are unvaccinated, now would be a very good time to take advantage of this free service from your pharmacy.
 In City news this week, your street department would like to bring something to the attention of all of the contractors, home repairmen, and do-it-yourselfers out there. If you are needing the street to help with your project whether it is to block traffic to move equipment, pile gravel at the curb, or whatever, please use the pylons and other equipment available at no cost from the City, to prevent traffic accidents. These can be checked out during regular business hours.
 Well, that is it for this week. Please keep an eye out for children going back to school this week!