News

Mark off five numbers in a row for a bingo and a prize.

The coronavirus pandemic has put a stop on every traditional school and community event that had previously been on the calendar for the next few weeks, leading several local towns to get creative in planning activities—like Fairfield’s Social Distancing Bingo.

Krista Calderon, a Sandy Creek Elementary teacher and mom who lives in Fairfield, came up with the idea for this community-wide activity nearly as soon as Gov. Pete Ricketts announced pandemic measures for the state.

The hope, Calderon explained, is to encourage community engagement in this time of isolation. Side benefits of encouraging people to go outside and do physical activity, inspire positive family time, and have fun.

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Wednesday, March 25, Sandy Creek staff spent a portion of the evening driving from one town to the next in a parade to wave at, honk, and say “hello” to their students while school is closed. Here, students Mason, far left, Gunnar, and Jubille Johanson show off their homemade signs while their dad, Arick, stands in the background with a sign of his own, during the parade route through Clay Center. This was one example of humor found along the route.

ASHLEY D. SWANSON | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

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Nobody knows when the coronavirus will infect other parts of Nebraska, but health department officials statewide agree that it’s inevitable.

Smaller counties across the state have fewer resources than Lancaster and Douglas and have been preparing for the virus by establishing hotlines, meeting with local organizations to inform the community and following the Center for Disease Control’s virus-related protocols.

“We know this is going to impact a certain number of people; we’re just trying to prevent it from impacting them all at the same time,” Julie McClure, communications, development and marketing director for East Central District Health Department, said. “If the progress of the disease among people is slowed, then there will likely be enough resources to treat those people.”

On March 24, South Central #5 and Sutton Public Schools announced they will be prolonging closure of school through April 30; Harvard Public School will also be closed through April 30, as announced March 25.

These decisions, as noted by each school, were made "with guidance from the Nebraska Department of Education...and the local health department."

Online learning will begin March 30 for all three schools, and will continue until each school is able to reopen.

Sutton and Harvard will re-evaluate reopening on April 16 (subject to change), on the basis of updated information and current situation.

Updated information will be posted to our website as information becomes available.

For more indepth information about your child's school, visit:

• http://www.harvardcardinals.org/

• http://www.southcentralunified.org/

<p>Since the publishing of the &quot;COVID-19 in numbers&quot; in the March 25 edition of the Clay County News, the number of confirmed cases in the United States of the coronavirus have spiked, supassing China&#39;s then-number of confirmed cases of 81,588.</p>

<p>As of 9 a.m., Friday, March 27, the United States reported 86,012 cases, which is 39,527 more than the number of cases reported March 24, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center&#39;s website.</p>

<p>Nebraska&#39;s Health and Human Services Department reported 81 confirmed cases (as of March 26), and no deaths.</p>

<p>The Centers for Disease Control, as of noon, Thursday, March 26, stated there have been 994 deaths in the United States, 594 more than reported on March 24.</p>

 Midland Area Agency on Aging and the Clay County Senior Center is closed to the public. The agency feels this action is needed to help limit the possible spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus among our areas aging population. 

We do not expect any disruptions in our Home Delivered Meal services and we will continue as expected. In lieu of our meal programs at our centers, we will offer carry out, or in some locations, home delivered meals may be an option. Please contact the Clay County Senior Center at 402-762-3226 to discuss what is available to you. 

“We will do our very best at Midland Area Agency on Aging to continue to provide all services possible but do ask that friends and family continue to check on the elderly to make sure they are doing well,” Casey Muzic, Director of Midland Area Agency on Aging, said.

Some ways to help support the elderly in your community are: 

Pheasant View Drive is likely to get much-needed repairs. L. Wayne Johnson spoke on behalf of his neighbors at the Clay Center City Council regular monthly meeting on March 17, at the city office in Clay Center.

“It is a situation that is and will continue to be pretty bad,” he said of the street that runs west of Highway 14 on the northern edge of Crooked Creek Golf Club.

“It’s not going away,” he added. “Besides a terrible eyesore, it’s a safety issue as well.”

Johnson described a section of the concrete drive, measuring approximately 160 feet long by six feet wide, that has severe cracking and heaving and poor drainage.

“It’s an ice pond in the winter time,” he said, “but I think the important thing is it’s not going to get any better.”

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This year’s primary election, set for May 12, will see four contested races, all of which come in from Harvard and Sutton.

Harvard’s City Council has two vying for a spot in Ward 2; Sutton’s City Council also has two vying for an open seat in Ward 2; and Sutton’s School Board has four running for one of three open seats.

However, the Harvard School Board’s three open seats have drawn the most attention, with eight people running for a spot.

Rueben Hock and Dean Winchell are running against each other for Harvard Council Ward 2 seat, which is currently held by Jeff Bushnell. Also reapplying for their seats are Bruce L. Smith, Ward 1, and Keith A. Ljunggren, Ward 3.

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Businesses are feeling the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stores selling goods such as toilet paper, food, and cleaning supplies have seen the brunt of bulk purchases and panic buying.

Despite the sudden high need for various groceries and goods, Brown’s Thrift Store and Edgar’s Corner Market are working to keep up with the supply and demand of customers.

On March 18, Brown’s owners Ty and Anna Itzen posted a notice stating changes in hours of operation and restrictions on how many of certain items people can buy at a time.

Some items with restrictions include toilet paper and gallons of milk.

Additionally, the Sutton Bakery, which sits adjacent to the grocery store and producing items such as cabbage pockets, cake orders, and kuchens, has been closed until further notice.

Cast members Phoenix Sadd, far left, playing Donkey; Ellie Fields, playing Princess Fiona; and Ryan Harms, playing Shrek, perform a song during a dress rehearsal Sunday, March 15. See a full story and more photos of Harvard’s spring musical “Shrek” on pg. 6B.

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