Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

Masks are coming off. Most residents wanting a coronavirus vaccination have gotten one. Sports are on and students are back in the classroom.

It’s not a coronavirus emergency that’s keeping Washingtonians from going back to work.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had numerous conversations with owners and managers trying to get their small businesses back on solid financial ground. Given residents’ frustration of being pent up for more than 14 months, you’d think that would be easy.

But it’s not.

Workers are refusing to return to jobs. Want ads go unanswered and adults are ref...