The Mayor’s Corner 08/19/2020

Mayor Randy Hibberd

It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. This summer has seemed to fly-by and creep at the same time with all that is going on. None of us have had the full range of options for activities we would normally have, but I hope you have enjoyed this season, anyway.
One of the things that makes Weiser’s downtown special in the summer is the beautiful flower baskets we all get to enjoy. This is an annual project coordinated by VIBE and paid for by various businesses and individuals. I would like to say a huge THANK YOU! to all of the businesses and people who sponsored these baskets, the FFA kids who started and designed them, and a special shout-out to Dan Miller, Sarah Boles, and Keith Bryant for caring and watering the planters each week!
I also found out just this week that Weiser will be losing our newspaper editor. Steve Lyon will be leaving the Signal-American to attend to family matters. Steve, you have done well with a difficult job. Your efforts have been appreciated!
School starts tomorrow. Please watch for children walking to school, especially at crosswalks. Also, a reminder to stop for school buses when the stop sign is extended and the lights are flashing red. Let’s do what we can as the public to make this as safe of a school year as possible for our kids.
The number of COVID-19 cases are up to 238. This is an increase of 33 cases or 16% in just one week. Washington County continues to be in the top 6 of Idaho’s 44 counties in Idaho for contracting the virus. Public Health officials continue to recommend wearing masks, physically distancing yourself from others, and washing your hands.
The masks have become such an issue for many people. However, there is strong and increasing evidence that masks are effective in substantially slowing the spread of the virus, but are most effective if the majority of people wear them.
The most common excuse given to me has been that it doesn’t protect the mask wearer, so why wear one. This virus is rather unique in that a person can be infected without knowing it and therefore can spread the disease without knowing it. The virus is primarily spread by the moisture droplets coming out of a person’s mouth or nose. A mask worn by an infected person therefore catches the majority of the moisture and any that does escape is limited in range. Just think of breathing out air on a cold winter day and seeing your breath extend out. Then picture your breath with a scarf around your mouth on that same winter’s day and how your breath is limited to just around your face. The mask causes the same effect with the microscopic virus, stopping or slowing down the force of a person’s breath.
So, wearing a mask is not necessarily for your own protection, it is also for the protection of others. Just like we have all kinds of behaviors that are for the good of each other—not eating mashed potatoes with our hands, not talking in a theatre or play, wearing clothes; masks, distancing, and washing hands are for the good of us all, not just for our own good. Please think of others and wear a mask and distance in public.
In city business this week, the RV dump should be completed in a matter of days. It is located at the corner of W. Idaho and W. 9th. The dump will be able to handle two RVs at a time and will be a nice and needed addition to Weiser.
Also, a reminder to limit items in the trash bins to household garbage. Cardboard should broken-down to allow more room. If the bin closest to you is full, please use the next one. Yard waste can be put in the alley for the City crew to pick up. If an alley is unavailable, please take it to the transfer station north of town. Pipes, boards, or metal items also need to be taken directly to the transfer station as they can damage the garbage trucks when they come into contact with the hydraulic compressors.
Well, that is it for this week. Please join the latest in fashion trends– and wear a mask.