In Our View: Cheers & Jeers: Housing, recycling right welcome

Cheers: To Community Roots Collaborative’s plan to reduce homelessness in Fruit Valley. The local housing nonprofit is in the process of fixing up an historical railway switch house along the BNSF Railway tracks to be the centerpiece of what is envisioned to be a cluster of tiny affordable homes for people who are currently homeless.

The switch house is approximately 150 years old and looks every year of it. For many years it has been used as a private residence. The collaborative is in the process of making some basic repairs and sees it as offering four private bedrooms with a shared kitchen, bathroom, living room and basement laundry room. Rent will be only $450 per month. Tenants will be referred by partner groups such as Kleen Street Recovery, which helps people in recovery from substance abuse. The first people could move in by spring.

And that’s not the end of it. This summer, a cluster of 21 tiny homes — each with its own kitchen and bathroom facilities — will be place around the switch house. Rents will be $700 per month, and tenants can rent to own. As Chris Thobaben, one of the collaborative’s founding members, says, the project is all about “allowing people that are ready to stand on their own to stand on their own, in a community of people who are also trying to do the same.”

Jeers: To overly optimistic recyclers. We’ve probably all placed something not recyclable in those ubiquitous blue bins — for some reason, our in-laws can never seem to remember those plastic clamshell packages aren’t recyclable — but there’s a percentage out there who wilfully place garbage in the recycle cart. Whether it’s in there by mistake or deliberately, hauler Waste Connections of Washington is trying to get the word out about what you can and can’t recycle. It’s a problem because sorting out the nonrecyclables drives up the cost for everyone. Hint: if it’s gross, throw it in the garbage can. When in doubt, check the excellent “Recycling A-Z Directory” on the company’s website, wcnorthwest.com. And don’t put those single-use plastic bags in the bin! Finally, please do recycle this editorial if you are reading it on newsprint.

Cheers: To television sports broadcasters. No, not those professionals who will bring you Super Bowl Sunday in a little more than 24 hours. We’re talking about student broadcast teams bringing you local games. Just as the athletes show their budding talents on the field or the floor, these students show their developing skills on cable television and YouTube. The high school students do virtually all of the jobs, from announcing the game to running the cameras, the graphics and the replay. Some might eventually turn it into a career, but for all of the students it’s a great way to learn about meeting deadlines and striving to do your best.

Jeers: To premature deaths among the state’s minority populations. A new Washington State University study analyzed nearly 250,000 death records from 2011-15 and found that a person’s race and place has a lot to do with premature death. Overall, 22 percent of deaths among whites occurred prematurely, compared with 43 percent of deaths among blacks. Native Americans fared worse, and worst off were native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. The study found 55 percent of deaths in that group could be considered premature.

Many people died of heart disease or cancer; not surprisingly, the death rate was greater in impoverished communities and neighborhoods. The next, bigger challenge should be trying to find ways to reduce the death rate in these vulnerable communities.