The sky isn't falling or the City's present position on COVID19

“Now, therefore, I, Tony Evers, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this state, and specifically by Sections 100.305, 321.39, 323.10, 323.12, and 323.13 of the Wisconsin Statutes, hereby:

1. Proclaim that a public health emergency, as defined in Section 323.02(16) of the Wisconsin Statutes, exists for the State of Wisconsin...

Executive Order #72. Signed March 12, 2020

As I'm sure you are all aware, COVID19 is all the news. In fact, it seems to be the only thing on the news these days. Many major college campuses have been shut down. The Big Ten tournament and all the NCAA winter tournaments are canceled. Major League spring ball and opening day have been postponed. And the NBA season is currently suspended. If the powers that be were trying to get our attention I think they've got it. The question you may have right now is how the City of Chetek is locally choosing to respond to this global pandemic?

March will not be as mad...or will it?

If I can be frank, my first reaction to all of these drastic measures as well as the rush to grab up as many rolls of toilet paper as may yet be found in Barron County was to seriously eye-roll the whole thing. After all, more people die every year of the “normal” flu than any who will from this latest strand of it. But upon reflection, I am reminded that a significant amount of our population in this community is in the at-risk age range and so I want you to know what our stance is as of today.

You've heard of a run on the bank? There seems to be a run on TP.
Taken Friday, March 13 at KJs in Chetek.

In the last 24-hours I have had conversations with Mayor Ron Fladten (Barron), Mayor Bert Skinner (Cumberland), Village Board President Mark Trowbridge (Cameron) and Jeff French (Barron County Administrator). I wanted to know if they had put in motion any particular policies or procedures affecting the running of either their municipal or county offices. None of them had. While offering the caveat that this is a very fluid situation and things may change, Jeff French informed me that as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12 all county offices would remain open and function as they normally do.

People still go there but
only with assistance

That being said, Programs Director of the Barron County Jail Amanda Poppe sent out an email yesterday informing all volunteers that until April 17 all programming at the jail (i.e., church services, one-on-one chaplain visits, classes, etc.) would be canceled effective immediately. Given my involvement as a volunteer chaplain I called Amanda for further clarification. At the jail they limit physical contact with inmates to a handshake and there is no gathering larger than 15 people at the same time. Why, then, would they take such drastic measures to literally lock us out? The concern is that many of our volunteers are senior citizens and if they unknowingly infected one of the inmates there the virus would be transferred quickly throughout the jail. Fair enough.

I went to The Center today for Friday's salad bar and what is usually a very hopping place was strangely quiet as only 15 people were present. Selena Sackrider, who is the site manager for the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC), informed me that sometime Friday afternoon an emergency meeting was being held to discuss preventative measures and she speculated that the county would cancel the Friday salad bar and other gatherings where people congregated until further notice (apparently Washburn County has already taken such a measure).

At 11:30 a.m. on Fridays, the Center is usually always full.
NOT today.

I also had conversations with both Calhoun Memorial Librarian Carol Burnham and The Center's Director Donna Bachowski regarding the facilities they are responsible for. Here's what they had to say:

Carol Burnham:

The library is open and ready
to serve you

“The library email has been buzzing. We have hand sanitizers everywhere. We disinfect and wipe counters, keyboards and mice every couple of hours or let computer users do it themselves. The virus supposedly lives only four hours on dry surfaces so we may start to check items in on a time delay. I had double my usual kids at story time on Wednesday. Go figure! I thought that would drop off completely. 17 attended our lunch time speaker on Tuesday. People do not seem to be self-quarantining. We have only small groups at a time...I am not aware of any area libraries closed. And all this at the time the census wants people to come to libraries to fill out the census online.”

Donna Bachowski:

“We got notice that Washburn County canceled and we expected that we were next. As far as activities I feel it's up to the volunteers running classes if they want to continue. I assure them that they don't HAVE to come and that they should use good judgment.”

If you are someone who likes to pay your water bill in person you may have noticed that there are a few notices on City Hall's door these days. Essentially it says, “IF YOU ARE SICK STAY HOME AND GET BETTER.” The drop box at City Hall remains available and if you choose you may make your payments on-line. Meanwhile, counters and entry door handles are being wiped regularly. (By the way, if you came in during the last couple of days, Ollie the dog is NOT there to keep sick people away; her people are on vacation and so she's keeping the girls company.)

This sign is on our front door, too

I also talked by phone to Dr. Jennifer Martin-McKay last night. Dr. McKay is a pediatrician in Coon Rapids and, full disclosure, my sister as well. I wanted to get her perspective on this whole matter as a medical professional. Honestly, I wanted to know if this is as big a deal as the media seems to be portraying it. Her reply was to say, in so many words, that she and other medical professionals in her circle are sincerely worried about the spread of this virus. She feels that people are going to want to be tested but there are not enough kits let alone adequate protections available (i.e., gowns and masks) for those who will administer the testing. “The thing that is trying to be done is to flatten out the size of the 'bell curve' and so, in short, don't travel if you don't have to and stay away from large gatherings (right now defined by our governor as 250 people or more).” While I love my sister politically we sail in different boats. I asked her if she thought that some of the media hype is politically driven. While she conceded some of it might be she personally doesn't trust the government to tell us the whole truth based on the make-up of President Trump's task force to address COVID19. “Better to wash your hands, cut-out unnecessary travel and if you're feeling symptomatic, stay home if at all possible.”

This is from Barron County Public Health's FB page. This is the "curve"
everyone is trying to flatten out

This seems to be a long walk around the block just to return to the original question which was, “How is the City of Chetek responding locally to this global pandemic?” but I wanted to give some context to what my official position presently is. Namely,

• Given that at present there has not been one diagnosed case of COVID19 in Barron County
• Given that all county offices and other neighboring municipalities offices remain open for business
• Given that all city employees have been reminded that if they are feeling symptomatic they should not try to 'push through it' but use accrued sick time
• Given that at City Hall and the Library equipment and surfaces most touched by the public are frequently sanitized
• And given that all of us have been reminded lately that nothing helps more than a good thorough hand-washing with soap and water, staying home if we're sick and simply using good judgment with regards to contact with others, City Hall, The Center and the Calhoun Memorial Library remain open for business as usual.

As most of you are aware, my real job is that I'm a pastor. Linda and I had dinner with a couple who are members at St. Joe's in Rice Lake last Sunday evening and they shared with us that at all Catholic churches until further notice people are being discouraged from sharing the peace. Instead, people are encouraged to fist-bump, elbow-bump or “air-five” one another. I haven't made up my mind yet if we will follow suit at Refuge this Sunday. There will be a whole lot less than 250 people there and most of our crowd is well under what would be called the "grey-line". But in the end I don't want to coerce people to share the right hand of fellowship (let alone a 'holy kiss') nor scare them into an introvert's bubble. In my mind, they should just be smart, keep breathing, keep smiling, keep hoping because with 100 per cent certainty this too will pass.

Maybe this is a sign of the times, the fist-bump sharing of peace?

We will keep everyone apprised in case anything changes but in the mean time, take care, and remember to follow your mom's advice which is to wash your hands and drink plenty of water.

It's funny how moms know so much