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The Grand Reopening?


Warden Callaway

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AZ is slowly reopening.  Two days ago our Governor was being pushed into answering who will enforce social distancing, he just did not answer the question.   It seems as if people in AZ hit the wall about 2 weeks ago and started taking matters into their own hands.  We are an independent lot here in AZ, and most are following the recommendations on distancing, some are not.  We'll see where it goes.  I did get a haircut a week ago and it was wonderful.  A number of restaurants have reopened and businesses are also.  The financial hit in my town of 65,000 has been epic, people need to work, earn money, save some  and pay bills.  Lots of people have migrated outdoors and outdoor activities are big in AZ.  Our 1st rodeo is over Memorial Day weekend in Cave Creek, it is a contestant only event with no spectators and is going to be televised live on the Cowboy Channel.  Things are happening and the virus has slowed down significantly here.  God Bless all of you through all of this..... 

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Yesterday, I heard from a restaurant owner that they were given the "go ahead" to open, by Amador County, CA, last Tuesday for Wednesday opening. I drove by to see when they would open and the neon "Open" sign was lit. So, I went in. I also saw an antique store open on Main St. in Jackson, CA.

 

We have had 8 cases of Covid and 8 recovered. No deaths.

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This is one of several websites for the pandemic status in Missouri.  Scroll down to the last section for the forecasts in each section of the state.  All sections are predicted to fade out to low levels in June except the St. Louis area, which could explode.  Obviously a plan for Springfield would not be advisable for St. Louis, and vice versa.  Allowing discreet areas and individuals to make their own choices seems the best approach.

 



https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/pdf/analytics-update.pdf

 

 

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Sawmill Mary and I took a tour of two of our favorite toy stores this morning.   

 

The inventory at the first shop was down nearly 50% despite getting in a large quantities of new guns.  They just went out within hours of getting them in.  He said very few were trading in or selling guns.  This store operated with no COVID-19 considerations through all the shutdown. 

 

On to second toy store.  Their inventory looked full but talking with the owner, he said they were down some 300 handguns.  It would be hard to notice when he has over 3,000 handguns on display!   He had a sign on door to limit customers inside the small store to 4 at one time.  He said the sign is still up but is ignored.  Business as usual. 

 

We backtracked to a little cafe in a small town that caters to tourist trade.  There was a big banner outside with directions for takeout service.  We were a few minutes before opening time.  But a lady opened the door and turned on the OPEN sign.  Sawmill Mary went to the door and talked with the lady at the door.  She motioned for me to come in.  They had removed some tables so could offer inside dinning.   Still some procedures in place.  No menus.   No plates, silverware or glass or cups.  All disposable crap.  

 

Gas prices are jumping up. Traffic on I70 heavy again as are the secondary roads.

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It was "get stuff" morning. 

 

ALDI had revised their procedures.   No more person outside disinfecting carts and regulating number of people going in.  They were back to pick your own cart but had a wipe dispenser available.   There were no crowd and customer numbers looked normal. I didn't see any jumbo packs of TP coming out.  Sawmill Mary said the customers were the usual suspects.  Meet was well stocked and prices normal.

 

I went into Wally-World to make use of their bathroom.   I went to the paper products isle and found some empty spots but pleanty on hand.  The bread isle was fully stocked.  I didn't see any evidence of hoarding.  Sawmill Mary said meet prices were up.  All the employees were wearing masks but most were pulled down under their nose. 

 

On to local home-town grocery store.   Sawmill Mary said they had the branch bank inside open again.  They had a clear curtains above the counter but not in front of the teller.   Sawmill Mary made mention of the lack of barrier.   She said, "I know.  I'm not worried about it.".  They had the buffet bar open.

 

Drove past the one chair barber shop and pickup trucks were jockeying to get in and out.  I'll tough it out a couple more weeks.

 

Last stop was at public library.  It's now operating with some strange procedures.   Hold books online.  They respond by email when items are ready.  Drive in and park in designated, numbered parking spot (1 or 2).  Open your trunk. Get back in your car. Call in and give id, etc.  That person verifies items are ready.  Then you're transferred to another person who will actually do the check out.  (Even though we know full well it's two old ladies setting elbow to elbow).  Then they bring out your stuff and put it in your trunk while you stay inside and until the librarian has returned to the safety of the building. 

 

We had to ask them to make a major exception to the procedure as we have a pickup with no trunk.  Sawmill Mary set a box in front of the truck.  They were ok with that.

 

 

 

 

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Wow!  Our Missouri governor Mike Parson is going to speak at a high school graduation ceremony. 

 

https://www.kmbc.com/article/coronavirus-covid-19-kansas-missouri-kansas-city-jackson-johnson-wyandotte-live-updates/32627483#

 

It's mixed in there somewhere.   

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On 5/14/2020 at 10:30 AM, J-BAR #18287 said:

This is one of several websites for the pandemic status in Missouri.  Scroll down to the last section for the forecasts in each section of the state.  All sections are predicted to fade out to low levels in June except the St. Louis area, which could explode.  Obviously a plan for Springfield would not be advisable for St. Louis, and vice versa.  Allowing discreet areas and individuals to make their own choices seems the best approach.

 



https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/pdf/analytics-update.pdf

 

 

 

Here I am living in Benton County and they make us part of Kansas City. Also spike of 300%. If you would like to know the real number was 3, and we now have 9 confirmed. Yep 300%, but you need to look at the numbers and where they come from. Benton county is a 2 hour drive from Kansas City population around 10,000.

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Sawmill Mary and I went on an outing this morning.   Destination Ha Ha Tonka park in Lake of the Ozarks area.

 

https://mostateparks.com/park/ha-ha-tonka-state-park

 

A lot more traffic than the earlier in the month when we were in this area.  We had a nice walk around the castle.  Then drove to Sedalia to the catfish restaurant.   We drove through about 20 miles of highway that is lined with business that cater to the lake tourist trade.  Most every business was open and had customers - even the hair salons.   Traffic was heavy for mid-morning and on a Thursday.  The restaurant in Sedalia had just recently opened their inside dinning room.  They had stacked up some tables and had a separate edit.   Waitresses wore mask.  Customers didn't.  Otherwise,  business as usual.

 

Coming back through Jefferson City along the strip malls,   all the chain restaurant parking lots were full. 

 

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Sawmill Mary called in an order to local Mexican restaurant and made the run to pick it up.  Bless her heart.   When she went in,  a customer was at the counter making a takeout order.   Sawmill Mary staid back giving "social distance".  But five young adults apparently didn't notice that she was next in line and barged right in between her and the customer at the counter.  Fortunately,  someone working there had noticed and came around the five intruders and ask to help her.  She said they had reduced tables to comply with capacity constraints but were busy.  

 

Beautiful weather this weekend.  It'll be interesting how many people will be out. 

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Sweden has reported no deaths form COVID-19 in past 24 hours.  Their economy is growing rather than going into the toilit. 

 

I check the Missouri stats on the Missouri government web site each day after updating.  Deaths are down to two in past couple of days and can count on on one hand for a while.  Despite ramped up testing,  the number of new cases are so small,  it barely shows on the bar chart. 

 

I finally found a PDF of the opening with social distance orders.   They are in effect until June 15. 

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The Northeast isn't doing nearly so well: NY 849 new cases; NJ 643 new cases; CT 539 new cases; hard to tell with MA, but looks like between 650-750 new cases.

 

Link: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

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Went to vote. Tax increase for library and one school board members. Go in and no line. But has marks on the floor for distancing. Funky barrier up on table but ol'bitties were not behind it. Took my driver's license and voter registration card with no gloves or masks. Had hand sanitizer to use before picking up magic pin to sign screen. I declined. Voted against library tax and for Joice Mealy. Ran my ballot in machine and ol'bittie just took the marker from me with her bare hand.

 

Sawmill Mary voted for the tax and for the other candidate so we ended up canceling each other's vote. The polls been open 3 hours. We were voters number 10 and 11.

 

There was a dozen ol'bitties at two table stations at opposite side of room. Far more than normal. I asked why so many? For social distancing. The ol'bitties were shoulder to shoulder. I pointed out they were not 6' apart. Their reply, "We all know each other.".:wub:

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17 hours ago, Chantry said:

The Northeast isn't doing nearly so well: NY 849 new cases; NJ 643 new cases; CT 539 new cases; hard to tell with MA, but looks like between 650-750 new cases.

 

Link: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

After the riots it will get worse. Natural Selection at work?

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52 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

The ol'bitties were shoulder to shoulder. I pointed out they were not 6' apart. Their reply, "We all know each other.".:wub:


And only six degrees from Kevin Bacon!

 

:)

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50 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

After the riots it will get worse. Natural Selection at work?

I guess we'll find out.  So far CT hasn't seen any rioting and I'm hoping it stays that way

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Looking at local protest news,  I ran across a headline that cried,  Big surge in COVID-19 cases.  Reading the article,  the big surge was 7 in past week in a county of 180,000.  Of course they are doing far more testing than before. 

 

Party goers have gone howg wild at The Lake of the Ozarks last weekend and the weekend before last. They made national news. Article said one person had "symptoms" on Sunday morning.   He has been among crowds at half a dozen places over the weekend.  It was a long article but I didn't see anywhere that it said he tested positive.   

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Feeling closer to normal. 

 

I went in and got a haircut.  He had a note on the door saying 5 person capacity limit and no extra visitors.  He had pulled out two of five waiting chairs making it somewhat like distancing.  No waiting. I was the only person in at that time.  Two more came in before I left.  I told him I waited for two weeks to give him time to catch up.  He said he hadn't been that busy.  I asked if people were afraid to come in.  He said no, they have been cutting their own hair.

 

Finally got in to get my chipped tooth repaired.  Dentist said he's still swamped with work.  

 

But I'm caught up on repairs.

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Spent the weekend in Sedona and other than the store and restaurant employees I hardly saw anyone sporting a face mask. Restaurants were open and from what I could tell, other than the face masks things were pretty much normal. One place we went Monday for lunch in Cottonwood wouldn’t let us sit at the table that we wanted because it hadn’t been sterilized yet. We sat at the table next to it and ordered. While we were waiting for our food two other tables cleared and were not cleaned or sanitized and new incoming customers were seated at them even with the used napkins, dishes and silverware still on the tables and no sanitizing done. Must be a learning curve issue with the new guidelines is all we could guess.

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One major step forward today. 

 

The public library had been totally closed for a couple of months.  Then they had some real bizarre rituals they imposed to make a transaction.   Order online.  Wait for notification that stuff was in. Go in and park at designated spot 1 or spot 2.  Open trunk and call in.  They would bring stuff in and put in trunk.  Stay in car. 

 

But now!   You can go in the library and browse and pick out stuff.  And check it out at the desk while standing in a square box tapped on the floor.   They still offer curb side service.  And returns are still outside in the drop box.  Other changes inside service require wearing of mask (but not gloves or sanitizer), all the news papers and magazines are gone.  Many chairs are covered as are the benches outside.  

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Further signs of opening up.

 

Our neighbor took his eldest son to play in a regional baseball tournament this weekend.  The games took all weekend ending with his son's team coming in second.

 

A few weeks ago I had a problem with one of my hearing aids.  The office building of my audiologist was shut down to public. He was servicing his customers at curb side wearing mask, gloves and gown. 

 

This moring I had another problem with an aid.  But this time the building was open to the public with conditions.   Elevator was limited to single person unless they were co-isolates.  There was a stand with hand sanitizer wipes in elevator.   A sign said mask required in cohabitation areas.  Stepping out of elevator,  I seen the receptionist area had a tape on the foor to designate social distance. The receptionist was not wearing a mask. I didn't use hand sanitizer (makes me sick) nor a mask.  The audiologist met me in mask and gloves.  He didn't request I use a mask and I didn't.   Went back to his office and worked out the problems. 

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A couple of weeks ago, Sawmill Mary and I drove up to Hannibal Missouri on an outing.  The old river front area has transformed into a tourist destination - playing off the home town of Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain.  Really nice day. We walked several blocks that has the antique shops, museums,  art shops,  restaurants,  pubs, etc and so on.  About half of the businesses were open. Not a big crowd of people. 

 

We went up to the Becky Thatcher's Diner on Third Street and had a great burger and fries.  There was a sign on the door asking to observe social distancing.  But nothing of the kind was being practiced inside.  It wasn't crowded and services was quick.

 

Yesterday we made a return visit.  It was  Wednesday, drizzling, windy and cool in low 60s. But there were far more shops open. And a lot more people in them and on the sidewalks.  All the eateries were open. A few people wore masks. Maybe 10%. One big shop had a sign in entry to use mask while in store.  Most didn't. 

 

We hit Becky Thatcher's Diner again. The sign on door was gone.  Even with the places to eat on Main Street open,  there were more people in the diner than two weeks ago.  The one waitres was working at a flat out run to keep up. 

 

The shelter and distancing order in Missouri is scheduled to expire in a few days. We'll see. 

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We made a run to the library and noticed the city park had their playground and water park open. It was moderately filled with families enjoying the park. 

 

I'm seeing maybe 10% of the people wearing masks.  Often it's young people.  What don't make sense is there are people wearing them when they are alone.  Maybe they are protecting themselves from pollen?    

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FREE!,  FREE at last!

 

Quote

Beginning Tuesday, June 16, we will move into Phase 2 of our recovery plan. In Phase 2, there will be NO statewide public health order – Missouri will be fully open for business. Governor Michael L. Parson, June 11, 2020

 

We just came back from a grocery run.  I couldn't see any change.  Wally-World was still stinking up carts and controlling traffic.  Their associates were still wearing mask.   Good supply of paper products but still limits.  Can goods were low and had limits. The local library still required mask and had other restrictions.  The benches outside were not to be used.  The city park playground was open and doing good business. 

 

 

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Some states are doing well, some not. Time will tell. Not leveling off here yet.

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Out and about again today.   

 

The observation at ALDI is that some customers are still wearing mask even though the state wide mandate has been ovwr for a week.  Puzzling is that young, health looking people are wearing mask. Even more than puzzling is that they are wearing them where there is no benefit, like walking across the sun filled parking lot with nobody near.  

 

I went into Wally-World to shop for a couple of items.  I met up with a lady associate that recognizes me on sight. She always knows. We exchanged greetings.   When she said HI,  her mask dropped to her chin.  I commented that I could see her mouth.  She replied,  "I hate this thing.". I ask why they were wearing it.  Corporate mandate. 

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Drove down to Cape Cod this weekend.  Normally, on a sunny Sunday in June, there would be a couple of miles of traffic backed up on the approach to the Bourne Bridge as daytrippers headed for the beaches would be out in force.  Not so this weekend; we sailed over with no stopping.  Very few boats in the Canal.  Almost no traffic on the way to the cottage.  Out for lunch at a local brewery.  Per our Phase 2, restaurants could open outdoor eating areas, as long as we kept spacing.  Beautiful day in the sun, staff sparse and masked, full disinfecting of furniture between seatings.  Things were slow, but we didn't care; my first time out to eat since March.  We are still wearing masks in public areas.  Restaurant lets you take them off once you are seated.

I feel badly for the merchants here; this is not going to be a profitable summer, and most of them have to make their full year's sales between June and September.

 

LL

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CT is still under Phase 2 conditions.  Masks are required for all public, commercial and government indoor buildings.  Bars, DMV, other government services open to the public and most courts are still closed.  Restaurants, barbershops, salons & gyms are able to open with restrictions on how many people are allowed in and various safety restrictions still apply.

 

Phase 3 in tentatively scheduled for July 20th with bars,  clubs and other indoor venues able to open, but with restrictions, for example no gatherings over 100 people.

 

I have no clue when the mask requirement will stop and when things will return to pre-Covid standards.

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9 minutes ago, Chantry said:

 

I have no clue when the mask requirement will stop and when things will return to pre-Covid standards.

When they come up with a vaccine I reckon.
It seems the younger folks are coming down with it more now.I guess they’re not quite as invulnerable as they thought.

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43 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

When they come up with a vaccine I reckon.
It seems the younger folks are coming down with it more now.I guess they’re not quite as invulnerable as they thought.

Maybe, but I'm seeing people across the country becoming increasingly reluctant to wear masks regardless of what the governor might order.  Much to my California seems to be where this is happening the most.  

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1 hour ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

When they come up with a vaccine I reckon.

 

By the time a vaccine comes out for this virus, another virus will break out.  Vaccines are far from totally effective aginst viruses that they were developed for. 

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I drop Sawmill Mary at the library where they are still doing some distancing stuff. But at least you can go in.  I hear in the library in Columbia they are still doing curb delivery only. 

 

I go get the oil changed.  I find an improvised plexiglass barrier at counter and notes in every other chair saying not to use. Young man doing the paperwork had his head turned to the computer screen and low talking.  I told him I couldn't hear him for the barrier and the air compressor going.  He mumbled something.  

 

I commented that the social distancing order was over.  Why are you still doing this?  "We're just now catching up.",  I think he said.

 

Come time to pay,  I had to use the stylus that everyone else has used. I feel a lot safer. 

 

 

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Wally-World stinks!   

 

I went in today to shop for a cable to connect between charger and Android tablet and phone.  I held my breath as long as I could getting past all the disinfectant in the entrance.   But the store had a stink over and above the other products.  I guess they were not circulating air from outside.  I found my cable and texed Sawmill Mary to find her.  I put the cable in the basket and told her I was heading for the truck.  I'd had all I could stand of the stink.  

 

She sees the cable and says to go back and get her one.  I say that I'll tell her where I found them and she could pick out her own.  (She has Apple so I'm not sure of the connections.)   No, Go back and get me one.  Ok, I go back and find the array of Apple cables and take a picture of the colors and lengts and sent it to her to choose.  She replied that she was coming to look.  Where was I?  She finally gets there and picks the cable of her choice.

 

By now I've been in the store to long.  The stink was getting to me. I held my breath and went out through the exit. I got off easy with just a headache,  burning eyes and start of a sore throat.  

 

They are still "social distancing" even though the mandate in Missouri is over. 

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