As the country comes together to support and provide for essential workers, there is an overlooked group of frontline workers no one talking about — our sanitation workers. Terrill Haigler aka @_yafavtrashman , a Philadelphia sanitation worker, is speaking up and bringing awareness to the hardships he and his colleagues face as garbage collectors during the pandemic. “I just want to bring awareness to the fact that we are left out of the top when it comes to being essential,” Haigler told NPR’s Whyy . Seven months ago when Haigler took the job with Philadelphia’s city Sanitation Division, he was met with the unforeseen physical demands of the job. “This has been one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever done in my life, consistently,” Haigler said. Haigler and colleagues’ 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shifts sometimes extend 14 consecutive days in harsh environments. “It’s just the beat that your body takes, the mental, the emotions, the elements you deal with, the rain… And, you know, sometimes you...
Most teens are celebrating graduations or wrapping up another school year right now, but Woodbury teen Wesley Ross has bigger things on his mind. According to Shoppe Black , when businesses all over were frantically searching for masks at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ross’ budding company, NorthStar Dynamics , managed to track them down in a factory overseas. The disposable three-ply masks are only a small venture for Ross’ company, but the niche lane he’s created for himself has made it possible to secure government contracts in the business world. “I have always tried to do big things,” said Ross. “I was not meant to be an everyday high-schooler.” Now he spends his time bidding on contracts most big businesses ignore by scouting the internet for small contracts for things the government needs. Upon doing so, he then finds a manufacturer to make it, a trucking company to deliver it and a buyer to accept it, Shoppe Black reports . Despite the contracts being small, Ross...