Vol. 2, No. 26
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Arkadelphian to compete in Ouachita faculty team gets grant Motocross Championship
Photos Courtesy of Kelly Howerton Pictured above and below: Hope Howerton, formerly of Rockwall, TX, will compete in the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Amatuer National Motocross Championship from Aug. 3 - 8.
By Kelly Howerton Arkadelphia Resident Hope Howerton, a resident of Arkadelphia, recently qualified to compete in the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch, to take place Aug. 3-8 in Hurricane Mills, TN. This will be Hope’s 4th time to compete at the ranch. She is the only participant from Arkansas that will be competing in her class and she will compete against girls from all over the world. Hope’s family moved from Rockwall, Texas to Arkadelphia in 2019 and she is the great-granddaughter of longtime Arkadelphia residents, the late John Bland and Bobbie Bland. In addition to motocross rac-
ing, Hope attends Arkadelphia High School where she is a member of the volleyball team, varsity cheerleader and an Arkadelphia Badger Scholar recipient. According to MXSPORTS, “Loretta Lynn’s Ranch is more than a destination; it’s also home to country music legend Loretta Lynn and her family. Motocross families can witness the historical landmark through the many tourism options offered at the Ranch.” Along with the anticipated races, other events that will take place during the Championship are karaoke, a Loretta Lynn Kennel Club Dog Show, a talent show, multiple chapel services, a movie night, and a country music festival featuring several artists.
FSA County Committee nominations due Aug. 3 USDA Farm Production and Conservation Little Rock, Arkansas, July 15, 2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds farmers and ranchers that they have until Aug. 3, 2020, to nominate eligible candidates to serve on local FSA county committees. Agricultural producers who participate or cooperate in an FSA program, including the current Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, may be nominated for candidacy for the county committee. Individuals may nominate themselves or others as a candidate.
CED Carlee Helms, Executive Director for FSA in Clark County, Arkansas, said each year an election is held in a Local Administrative Area (LAA) where a committee member’s threeyear term is expiring. For 2020, an election will be held in LAA 1, which includes Alpine, Amity, Hollywood, Palestine, Okolona, Dobyville and Boswell communities. “The Aug. 3 deadline is quickly approaching,” said CED Helms. “If you know of a great candidate or want to nominate yourself to serve on your local county committee, contact your FSA office before the deadline to submit the nomination
form. I especially encourage the nomination of beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as women and minorities. This is your opportunity to have a say in how federal programs are delivered in your county.” Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made of three to 11 members and typically meet once a month. Members serve three-year terms. Producers serving on FSA county committees play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of the agency. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee,
a person must participate or cooperate in an agency administered program and reside in the LAA where the election is being held. A complete list of eligibility requirements, more information and nomination forms are available at fsa. usda.gov/elections. To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA669A nomination form. All nomination forms for the 2020 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA county office by Aug. 3, 2020. Ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 2, 2020.
Aug. 8 Clark County Clinton Day Dinner cancelled By Zach Bledsoe Chair, Clinton Day Dinner With a keen awareness of COVID-19 health concerns, we regret to announce that the 25th Annual Democratic Party of Clark County Clinton Day Dinner, scheduled for Saturday, August 8, has been cancelled. The Clark County Democratic Committee made this decision out of great concern for the health of members and guests, as well as a desire to put the safety of others first. Plans are already underway for the 2021 Silver Anniver-
sary Dinner. For 24 years, the Clinton Day Dinner has been a successful stable event in Arkansas Democratic politics. Candidates for local, state, and national elected offices have attended the Clinton Day Dinner which is always an excellent political campaign and networking opportunity. Funds raised have allowed the Committee to assist Democratic candidates and generated funds to pay operating expenses associated for the local headquarters building. This year, the Clark County
Committee is working for the re-election of State Senator, Bruce Maloch, who serves part of Clark County, and William Hanson, candidate for Fourth Congressional District Representative. The Committee is committed to helping all Democratic candidates with our time, energy, and funds. Many Committee members who purchased a table and tickets in previous years have generously pledged to donate the price of a table or tickets to help the Committee continue working for candidates and to
maintain the headquarters building. The Committee is asking any previous table or ticket sponsor, to please consider a donation for those purposes. A table would have been $320.00; half-table, $160.00 and one ticket $40.00. The past support and attendance at the dinners are the reasons for past success and any amount donated will be appreciated. Donations can be sent to The Democratic Party of Clark County, PO Box 436, Arkadelphia, AR 71923.
ARKADELPHIA, Ark.— A team of Ouachita Baptist University faculty members has been selected as a recipient of the Accelerating Disability Inclusion Community-Based Micro-Grant by the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability’s (NCHPAD) Inclusion: Community MicroGrant Program. Ouachita is one of seven communitybased organizations from around the country to be awarded the micro-grant. According to the NCHPAD website, recipients of the program’s Accelerating Disability Inclusion Community-Based Micro-Grant are charged with creating or advancing disability inclusion efforts – in programs, policy, systems or environments – through an innovative, community-based project. Ouachita’s faculty team plans to use the NCHPAD Community Health Inclusion Index assessment tool to identify accessible walking areas in Arkadelphia neighborhoods; develop an app that maps these neighborhoods, streets and other routes in the community; and create a video to train Arkadelphia residents about accessibility and inclusion. Group Living, Inc. and Pediatrics Plus of Arkadelphia also will aid the team in identifying target neighborhoods based on residence of persons with disabilities, community connectivity and safety of active transport. “The purpose of this is increase overall inclusion of persons with disabilities in community events and neighborhood engagement and improve the ability of persons with disabilities to be physically active in their own communities,” said Dr. Amber Chelette, assistant professor of kinesiology & leisure studies. “We will build bridges to alleviate attitudinal barriers as well as point out physical barriers to inclusion of persons with disabilities and educate those in attendance on how they can personally contribute to the goal of removing barriers to inclusion for persons with disabilities.” The team of Ouachita faculty members includes Chelette; Hallie Clark, instructor of kinesiology & leisure studies; and Dr. Allyson Phillips, assistant professor of psychology. All three have a special interest and expertise in the field of disability and health. Chelette teaches an Adapted Kinesiology Course at Ouachita, which instructs students how to lead recreation, exercise and sport activities for persons with disabilities and chronic health conditions, and she leads a group exercise program at Group Living, an organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities in Arkadelphia. Phillips conducts research within the disability community regarding Down syndrome and is an advocate for Ouachita students who have autism spectrum disorders. Clark, a new member to the Ouachita faculty this fall, recently earned her Master of Science degree in exercise science from the University of Arkansas with
an emphasis in adapted physical activity. “There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding regarding disabilities, and we want to help break down those barriers,” Phillips said. “Our long-term hopes for Arkadelphia are to see individuals with disabilities involved in all aspects of community life, developing relationships with their neighbors and having opportunities for work and recreational activities. We hope to see true inclusion in Arkadelphia!” The team also will be assisted by Tyrese Allen, a senior biology and psychology double major from Savannah, Ga., and Geoff Hartley, a 2019 communications & media/film studies graduate from Rockwall, Texas. “It is meaningful when faculty members from different departments combine efforts to address a problem in the world around us,” said Dr. Jeff Root, dean of Ouachita’s Huckabee School of Education as well as its School of Humanities. “Dr. Chelette is highly regarded as an expert in physical activity and health, as well as a strong proponent of disability inclusion. Paired with Dr. Phillips, also an expert in this field, the two have put together an outstanding team. I am excited about how they will involve students in an important effort to have a positive and lasting impact on individuals and families in Arkadelphia.” Founded in 1999, NCHPAD is a national resource and practice center that empowers communities, organizations and individuals to create livable places, healthy people and sustainable inclusion. The organization’s Inclusion: Community Micro-Grant Program recognizes and aims to support and grow existing community efforts that promote inclusive health for people with disabilities, specifically to improve physical activity, nutrition or healthy weight management. “I was inspired to apply for the NCHPAD grant after making some personal observations while trick-ortreating last fall,” Chelette said. “I was pushing a stroller with my toddler around a popular trick-or-treating neighborhood in Arkadelphia with a group of friends. To say it was challenging is an understatement.” Chelette noted incomplete sidewalks, no curb cuts, several obstructed pathways with misplaced mailboxes and landscaping, as well as homes with multiple steps leading from the street to the front door. “Myself and my toddler waited on the street while his sister and other kids participated in the event,” she continued. “I thought: If I feel left out when I could realistically dump the stroller, how do kids or parents who use wheelchairs feel this time of year? This prompted some meaningful conversations with my colleagues, and we ultimately decided to pursue funding to increase awareness and accessibility in our community.”
2 News
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Arkadelphia Dispatch
Bipartisan solutions that work for Americans
By Bruce Westerman U.S. Representative These days, we could all use some good news coming out of Washington, D.C. I’m excited to report that on July 15, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the 2020 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. The bill now heads to the House floor for a vote later this month. Why is this bill important? Because every American - no matter where you live - benefits from navi-
gable waterways and other water infrastructure. Many of the goods we use on a daily basis are shipped via waterway, and if we don’t regularly maintain dams, levees and other water resources, we risk flooding or a complete shutdown of water transportation. As the lead Republican on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, I’ve spent the last year and a half traveling around the country and across Arkansas to hear from local leaders about what Congress needs to do to improve our
water infrastructure. Many of the WRDA provisions stemmed directly from these conversations. Some of the main wins for Arkansas include an identification of deficiencies in the National Levee Database (which will go a long way in preventing flooding like in 2019 from happening again) and funding for longstanding projects on the Arkansas, Ouachita and Sulphur Rivers. I look forward to seeing the bill signed into law!
The growing importance of Arkansas timber By Asa Hutchinson Arkansas Gov. LITTLE ROCK – The logs have been counted and the verdict for last year is in – Arkansas’s timber industry is more important than ever. Today I’d like to talk about that good news, which comes from state forester Joe Fox, and what it means for Arkansas. Joe grew up in the sawmill business. Joe, his father, and his grandfather, were members of the Arkansas Forestry Commission, the only family in state history with three generations to serve on the commission. Dr. Matthew Pelkki and Dr. Phillip Tappe from the College of Forestry at the University of Arkansas at Monticello also provided information about our forest industry. The tons of timber we hauled to mills in 2020 equaled 2019, making the past year the second best on record and still we grew 20 million tons more than
we harvested last year! In fact, we have grown millions of tons of surplus each of the last several years. That surplus is very attractive for forest markets. Arkansas is the ninth leading producer of timber in the United States. We have 1.2 million acres more forestland today than we had in 1978. We harvest more than 24 million tons per year, which is worth approximately $445 million to landowners. As long as we have sufficient buyers for our timber, we can keep our forests thinned out and healthy. If we continue to produce that level of surplus for too many years, eventually our forests will become too dense, which reduces the quality of the trees as they compete for sun, water, and nutrients. Dense forests increase the risk of insect infestations and wildfires. As we continue to grow our forests, we must continue to expand into new
markets and find new uses for timber. In Europe, manufacturers have found a way to make a cellulosic-based plastic-like product for making items such as drinking bottles. Another company, Structurlam, manufactures a construction product called cross-laminated timber, or CLT. The wood product is precision tooled for commercial and residential construction. The Canadian company is opening a plant in Conway and will supply Walmart with mass timber for its new headquarters in Bentonville. Structurlam will manufacture its CLT exclusively with Arkansas pine. Fifty-seven percent of Arkansas is forested. That’s 19 million acres of trees that scrub our air, keep our lakes, streams, and rivers clean, and shelter our wildlife. Our forests offer adventure, a living, and a way of life for 3 million Arkansans.
Upcoming Events >>> <<< Arkadelphia Bands had planned to host its first-ever Mattress Sale Fundraiser from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., April 18 at AHS, 401 High School Road, but that’s been postponed to Aug. 1. The fundraising sale will feature brands such as Simmons, Beautyrest, and more, with on-site mattresses priced up to 50% below retail. >>> <<< The Third Annual Comics Studies Society Conference will be hosted by Henderson State University from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9. The conference exists to bring together “scolars, artists, and other members of the international Comics Studies community” to discuss topics within the area of comics. Matthew J. Smith from Radford University and Randy Duncan from HSU are the organizers. Those interested can register at comicssociety.org. >>> <<< The Spring Hazardous Household Waste event that was scheduled for last Sat. was cancelled as a result of COVID-19 precautions. The Southwest Regional Solid Waste Management District will continue with the Fall Household Hazardous Waste event on Oct. 17. The Southwest Regional Solid Waste Management District is the planning board that oversees solid waste management for Clark, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties. Ongoing >>> <<< Alcoholics Anonymous hosts two meetings a week in Arkadelphia. The meetings are open to anyone interested in AA’s program of recovery. The Arkadelphia Group meets at 7 p.m. every Tues. in the Sturgis Building at North 9 and Caddo Streets. For more information on the Arkadelphia Group Meetings, call 870-403-3001. The U-Turn Group meets at 7 p.m. every Thurs. on the front, upper level of Park Hill Baptist Church, 3163 Hollywood Road. For information on that group’s meetings, call 870-2302975 or 870-260-9277. >>> <<< Through the summer the Arkadelphia Arts Center will have original art on display created by members of the Caddo River Art Guild. The window exhibits will vary through the weeks so check back often. The artists’ name and contact information are displayed next to each piece. For more information about the Arkadelphia Arts Center and the Caddo River Art Guild find their pages on Facebook or visit CaddoRiverArtGuild.com or CCAHC.org. >>> <<< Al-Anon meetings, designed to help family and friends affected by alcohol, are held three days a week in the Arkadelphia area: - Tues. at 7 p.m., Sturgis Building, corner of 9 and Caddo. 870-403-2019 - Thurs. at 6:30 p.m., Park Hill Baptist Church. 870-403-2019 - Fri. at noon, Clark County Library, 609 Caddo St., side door. 512-750-2292
Arkadelphia Dispatch
News 3
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Hess graduates from Harding University
By Kate Clement Manager of News Services Harding University SEARCY, AR Gabriella Hess of Arkadelphia is one of more than 800 students who received their diploma and will be
recognized as a Harding University graduate during a virtual ceremony on August 15, 2020. Hess received a Bachelor of Science in child life. Graduates include students from the College of Allied Health, College of Arts
and Humanities, College of Bible and Ministry, Paul R. Carter College of Business Administration, CannonClary College of Education, Carr College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, College of Sciences, and the Honors College.
Harding University is a private Christian university located in Searcy, Arkansas. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, it is the largest private university in the state. Harding’s student body is made up of students representing 49
states and 55 nations and territories. The University offers more than 100 undergraduate majors, graduate and professional degrees at the master’s, specialist and doctoral level as well as numerous international study offerings including
locations in Australia, Latin America, England, France, Greece, Italy and Zambia. For more information, visit harding.edu.
State of Arkansas awards Periscope Holdings Statewide eProcurement Project By Alex Johnston Chief Comm. Director Dept. of Transformation and Shared Services The Department of Transformation and Shared Services (TSS) and Periscope Holdings announced today that the State of Arkansas will implement the entire suite of Periscope procure-to-pay solutions across all its state and local agencies. Phase I of the project, branded ARBuy by the state department, was successfully launched in less than 60 days. The procurement transformation project will save money, improve transparency, and empower local businesses throughout Arkansas. “This tool is another
step in transforming the way the state does business so that we are even more transparent and efficient,” Governor Asa Hutchinson said. “In adopting a unified procurement system, the Department of Transformation and Shared Services simplifies the process and saves taxpayers time and money.” “The Periscope team is honored to partner with Arkansas to eradicate waste and maximize the value of every dollar spent,” said Brian Utley, CEO at Periscope Holdings. “Arkansas will become our 8th state to benefit from fully automated workflows, unprecedented spend visibility, cost savings and increased
bid participation from small and local businesses.” Arkansas joins over 1,000 public sector Periscope Holdings customers, such as the State of Oregon, State of Nevada and MMCAP Infuse. Arkansas has already implemented and launched phase I of the ARBuy project and will implement the entire suite of Periscope eProcurement solutions, including the newest products, Periscope Marketplace and Periscope Reconciler. The Periscope Marketplace will facilitate comparison shopping and best value purchasing across Arkansas’s own contracts, those managed by other public sector organizations,
cooperative contracts, and the open market – all in one place. The Periscope Reconciler will provide Arkansas suppliers an easy, efficient way to track sales and fees. “Arkansas is delighted to collaborate with Periscope Holdings to implement a state-of-the-art digital procurement system. I am proud of our team at the Department of Transformation and Shared Services that worked diligently on implementing the ARBuy system in record time. Our Department continually strives to find efficiencies and improve state processes,” said TSS Secretary Amy Fecher. “ARBuy is one more way we are keeping our promise of improving services and
saving Arkansans money.” About the Department of Transformation and Shared Services The Department of Transformation and Shared Services (TSS) was established in 2019 following the passage of Act 910 for the purpose of creating a more efficient government through epic service delivery and collaboration across state government. The Department is comprised of the Office of the Secretary, the Arkansas Geographic Information Systems Office, the Division of Building Authority, the Division of Information Systems, the Employee Benefits Division, the Office of Personnel
Management, and the Office of State Procurement. About Periscope Holdings Founded in 2001, Periscope Holdings is transforming public sector procurement with technology and solutions exclusively for public sector buyers and suppliers. Driven by a purpose to eradicate waste and maximize the value of every dollar spent, Periscope Holdings is trusted by more than 500,000 suppliers and powers more US government eProcurement systems than other eProcurement provider, including 8 states. Visit www. periscopeholdings.com to learn more.
Continuing tracking of COVID-19 by Arkansas Department of Health AR. Department of Health
According to the Arkansas Department of Health Administration in its COVID-19 update, a total of 363 deaths have occurred in the state as of June 16. In reference to ADH’s graph, there are a total of 33,927 cases with 7,167 active and 26,397 recovered. The counties are colored by light to dark in terms of density of cases. The Dispatch will post an updated version of this graph weekly according to what is available from the
Department of Health and state officials. As the cases continue to rise, more and more states are reverting back to more strict quarantine and social distance rules. Masks are nearly universally required to enter most businesses. They are available in most grocery and convenience stores. People are encouraged to continue social distancing and staying at least six feet away from others. Testing is widely available in most cities.
Arkadelphia Dispatch
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Editor: Pete Tubbs arkadelphiadispatch@gmail.com 870-230-5221 Calls will be returned. The Arkadelphia Dispatch is published weekly by Nashville Leader, Inc., 119 N. Main, Nashville, AR 71852.
4 News
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Arkadelphia Dispatch
NBA Disney World stay update Hannah Hodge Sports Reporter
In an update to the upcoming NBA season and the infamous “bubble” that the athletes are currently in there have been recent updates for how the journey is going so far. As the players are now starting practices and getting comfortable in their new environment the players begin to get ready for the upcoming remainder of the 2020 season. In the previous weeks before the players arrived in Orlando the NBA required the athletes to be tested for the coronavirus. Even when arriving at the “bubble” the players had to quarantine in their room for more than 24 hours and complete two negative COVID-19 tests from July 7-9. The NBA has stated that there is “no refusal in getting
tested if you are a player, staff or coach and if you do refuse you will be prohibited from engaging in group activities until the monitoring is accomplished and/or may be required to leave the campus permanently.” In the process of keeping everything sanitized and cleaned for the safety of everyone, Disney employees will be routinely cleaning public spaces such as elevators, lobbies, and handrails. In detail, every two hours public restrooms will be closed for cleaning. Next, medium touch surfaces will be cleaned every four hours, and low touch surfaces every eight hours. As for basketballs and sports equipment, it will be cleaned and disinfected between every use. Regardless, the NBA said in its health and safety protocols that the league, players union and Disney
state, “We are continuing to work with Disney on the testing of at least a subset of their employees that could potentially be in the same room with our players and anyone else who’s tested daily on our campus,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in June. “So we are satisfied that once we work through those additional measures with Disney, we will continue to have a safe setting for us to resume our season.” Moving onto the map of the multiple complex and practice areas of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando there are many to choose from. These facilities include two main areas where athletes can practice which are called the VISA Athletic Center which has one practice court and a broadcast court. The second facility is the
HP Field House which only has a broadcast court. Finally, the place where the majority of live games will be played is The Arena which has two practice courts and a broadcast court. The resort is a colossal 220 acres and is home to not only the now called “bubble” but the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex which has plenty of courts for games that occur simultaneously and areas for staff and coaches to relax and reside on breaks. An interesting fact about the NBA and Disney that you might not have known is the NBA has a multiyear contract with ESPN which is owned by Disney. The housing for the athletes, staff, and coaches are all based on the previous conferences standings. Such as the top four teams for the East and West stay
in Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs which is located NorthEast of the Magic Kingdom. The teams are the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz. The middle seeds are housed in the Grand Floridian which is located South of the Magic Kingdom and West of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The teams are the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and the Memphis Grizzlies. Finally, the remaining teams which are dubbed the playoff bubble teams will reside in the Yacht Club which is located East of Epcot. The six teams are the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans
Photos Sporting News Because of COVID-19, the NBA is in Orlando, FL in their own “bubble.” Their season doesn’t begin until July 30 whe the Utah Jazz takes on the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers later that same day.
Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and the Washington Wizards. As for the schedule for the beginning of the season which took off on June 7th when the NBA athletes traveled to Orlando. Next, the teams start team training camps and scrimmaging until July 29. Then on July 30 at 5:30 p.m. the season begins with the Utah Jazz taking on the New Orleans Pelicans. Later that same day at 8:00 p.m. The Los Angeles Clippers face off the Los Angeles Lakers. Next, on August 15-16 six teams will be eliminated and will leave Orlando and the playoffs will begin on August 17. Then on August 29, eight more teams will be eliminated after the first round of play-offs. An important date for athletes, in particular, is on August 30 is when family and guests of the remaining teams are allowed to visit. The following day is when the conference semifinals begin. Finally, the conference finals begin on September 15 and the finals begin on September 30 and end on October 13. Knowing that the NBA, Disney World, and Global Health department were able to pull off the process of putting this historical season together is incredible. However, in a shocking turn of events, Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened. Although only the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom reopened this past Saturday and their combined crowds appeared to be in the 16,000 range. The park areas that recently just opened are Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios, which opened July 15. All that is left to do now is wait for July 30 and pray for the health and safety of the athletes in Orlando.
MLB 2020 season announcements Hannah Hodge Sports Reporter
This past week the MLB officially announced the beginning of the modified 2020 season. Training camp and practices began on July 1 and would lead until July 23-24 when the season will begin. The Commissioner of the MLB, Rob Manfred commented the following about the breaking news. “Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon.” In addition to the commissioner’s comment, the league put out an official press release on the regular season stating the following, “The league asked the MLBPA to confirm that players could report to training camps by July 1, which the union agreed to on Tuesday. MLB is working with a variety of public health experts, infectious disease specialists, and technology providers on a comprehensive approach that aims to facilitate a safe return. Players will undergo COVID-19
testing upon arrival, then begin workouts if they test negative. Players, coaches, and support staff will be tested for COVID-19 every other day during training camps, the regular season, and postseason. Anybody testing positive will be quarantined. Two negative tests are reportedly required for a return. Players will also receive temperature/ symptom checks at least twice per day, and antibody testing will be conducted approximately once per month. MLB has submitted a 60-game regular-season schedule for review by the Players Association. In order to mitigate travel, the schedule would include 10 games for each team against its four divisional opponents, along with 20 games against the opposite league’s corresponding geographical division.” This new season will be one of a kind, which goes for any other sport during this pandemic however as for rules in the MLB, some have been changed for the
sake of players protection. On Opening Day rosters will feature 30 active players culled from each team’s 60man player pool. The active roster will be trimmed to 28 players on the 15th day of the season and then to 26 players on the 29th day. There will be no limitations on the number of pitchers. Teams will be permitted to carry three players from their taxi squads on road trips, one of whom must be a catcher. Another difference from the previous seasons is at the beginning of the short summer camp training session, starters will likely pitch fewer innings the first two or three times through the rotation. In the most reasonable new protocol, there are no fans in stands. As that is a given there is also no spitting or pitchers being allowed to carry a wet rag in their back pocket to use for moisture. Next, all National League games will include a designated hitter. As for rules on the runners, in extra innings, each team
will begin with a runner on second base. The runner will be the player in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning’s leadoff hitter. Then for relief pitchers, they must face a minimum of three batters unless the inning ends. As for the standard injured list, it will be 10 and 45 days and there will be a separate COVID-19 injured list for players who test positive, have confirmed exposure to COVID-19, or exhibit symptoms requiring self-isolation. Finally, the schedule will be regionally based, with teams playing 40 games within the division and 20 interleague games against the corresponding geographical division. The trade deadline is Aug. 31 and Sept. 15 is the postseason eligibility deadline. Finally, in details for the World Series, five teams from each league, the three divisional champions, and two Wild Card squads will compete for the World Series starting with a Wild Card game, then a best-of-
five Division Series, followed by best-of-seven matchups for both the league pennant and World Series. However, besides the World Series and the league pennant, baseball fans may have forgotten that there is one important game in particular that did happen this year, the All-star game. The 91st All-Star game would have been played this past Tuesday, and it would have been played at Dodger Stadium. The last time the AllStar game was canceled was back in 1945 due to World War II. Instead, the American League will carry its seven-game winning streak
into 2021 at Atlanta’s Truist Park, with Dodger Stadium now scheduled to host the 2022 festivities. Just like the NBA the MLB impressively put together this upcoming season in under two months. The first two games will be on July 23, at 6:00 p.m. the New York Yankees will face the previous champions, Washington Nationals. The second game will start at 9:00 p.m. with the San Francisco Giants playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers.