The Mayor’s Corner 10/07/2020

Mayor Randy Hibberd

Wow! Weiser High School capped off homecoming week with a bang last Friday! After celebrations at the school and an excellent homecoming parade, the football team left no doubt about the winner, dominating the game with a 70-15 win! Congratulations to the players and coaches for a great game!

The School District is also doing a great job on its COVID-19 containment efforts. The last report from Southwest District Health states that as of last Thursday, there have not been any cluster outbreaks within the schools. Good Job to Wade Wilson, staff, and students for keeping the spread down to a minimum.

In Washington County, the number of cases has increased by 53 over the prior 14 days to 386, as of last Sunday. These numbers have put us in the “Orange” category and climbing. With colder weather coming on, the experts are predicting that the rate of new cases will continue to climb as we move indoors.

One of the myths going around about COVID-19 is that a person doesn’t need to be concerned about any serious effects of the virus, unless they have pre-disposing factors. However, the District Health’s local numbers show that more than 60% of those that died from COVID-19 did NOT have any of pre-disposing conditions other than age. In fact, of the 36 deaths in our region of those under the age of 60, exactly 2/3rds did not have pre-disposing factors. In other words, this virus remains unpredictable. The best way to fight it continues to be wearing masks, distancing, and washing your hands. It is going to take all of us working together to get past this bug.

The City Fire Dept. will have its annual Public Open House on Wednesday October 7, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Come on down to the station at 55 W. Court St. for hot dogs, chili, and nachos. It will be a chance to meet and thank the people who are there for you in an emergency.

Also, the railroad crossing on W. 3rd Street will be closed this week. The crossing itself is being dug up and completely replaced to solve a problem it has had with shifting and rising on one end.

The Recreation Department is continuing to sign up kids for the Youth Basketball program through October 14. The registration is for 1st and 2nd Grade Boys & 1st – 6th Grade Girls Basketball Clinic and Scrimmage, and 3rd – 6th Grade Boys Youth Basketball.

The 3rd through 6th Grade Girls Youth Basketball will be played after the first of the year with a registration deadline of December 9.

In addition to Youth Basketball, the Recreation Dept. will be hosting a Men’s Basketball league this year. Registration will be through October 21st.

For more information on the basketball programs, contact the Recreation Department at 208-414-0301.

Well, that’s it for this week. Stay safe and hope you enjoy this great fall weather.