Today is VETERANS DAY! This country owes its very existence to our veterans for their selfless sacrifice and dedication. Whatever you do, go out of your way to say THANK YOU to a vet!
Last Sunday, Cathy and I went on a little jaunt in our “backyard” to see bighorn sheep. We had been told by our neighbors, Ron and Pat West, about seeing them in Hells Canyon on the Oregon side as they gather for the mating season.
Although our timing wasn’t as good as Ron and Pat’s, we were able to get close enough to some ewes to hear them chewing, (they’re not quiet). We also were within an easy stone’s throw of a pair of rams who were hanging around each other and eventually half-heartedly butted heads. It seemed more like fist bumping rather than fighting, but it was fun to watch. We had a great time getting out of the house and enjoying the neighborhood.
On a more serious note, the Governor has moved Idaho back into the Stage 3 category in the Covid-19 recovery plan. On October 16, the State had 1,074 new cases in one day, which was a 47% jump over the single biggest day the State had seen so far. Less than a month later, this week, on November 7, Idaho had 1,403 new cases. In addition, to the Stage 3 limits placed on gatherings, the Governor is urging people to take personal responsibly to use masks and distance when in public.
Here in Washington County, our covid-19 numbers are going up at an alarming rate. Two weeks ago, Washington County had gotten down to averaging 2.79 new cases per day, which, although is still in the “Orange” category, was reasonably manageable. In the last two weeks there have been 97 new cases, which is 6.93 new cases. This week alone, Washington County has averaged nearly 8 new cases a day. In the interminably long six months since May 11 when Weiser had its first outbreak of the virus, there have been 539 cases and 8 deaths in Washington County. Although Weiser makes up about half of the County population, the vast majority of the County’s cases are in Weiser.
Pfizer this week announced its covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective based on a small number of infections. This was promising enough to send the stock market into doing a happy dance. However, this test is still months away from possibly being the control and cure to the virus we are looking for. There are safety trials, manufacturing, and logistical distribution hurdles to cross before the vaccine is available to the entire country. Most of the earliest estimates, if the vaccine is successful, is to have it available to the broad public sometime in mid-2021.
This is a long-winded way to say that masks, distancing, and hand-washing are still be best weapons to protect each other from this nasty little bug.
In order to comply with the Governor’s orders some holiday celebrations have had to be cancelled for this year. However, individuals, organizations, and the City, are looking at various less traditional or rethought traditional ways of celebrating. There will be more information on this later. We can all keep our fingers crossed and hope this is the only holiday season that celebrations are dampened.
There is not much to report on in City news this week. The Street Department continues with the leaf pickup. All you need to do is rake the leaves to the curb.
Well, that’s it for this week. Be sure to say “THANK YOU” to any and all veterans you know and meet!
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