CharlotteNewsVT.org
Charlotte News
The
Vol. 62, no.18 March 19, 2020
COVID-19
Vermont’s oldest nonprofit community newspaper, bringing you local news and views since 1958
Emergency Selectboard meeting sets course for managing virus and town business Chea Waters Evans
UPDATES & INFORMATION
Different from the flu and requires a different response Nancy Richardson, adapted from a CNN article, information from a former CDC director Symptoms: Covid-19 causes shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. This requires immediate medical attention. Covid-19 may come on slowly and take several days to get worse. Influenza causes aches, headache and chills and often, upper respiratory symptoms. Flu symptoms come on abruptly and get worse in a day or two. Infection rate: Covid-19 is more infectious than the flu, spreading farther and faster. Mortality: Covid -19 is more likely to cause death than the flu and may kill 1 in 100 people who contract it. This virus causes mortality through Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Vaccine: There is no vaccine for Covid-19 and no treatment. Immunity: Because Covid-19 is a new virus there is no immunity to it among the general population. Children appear to be at reduced risk, while the elderly are at increased risk. Actions that limit transmission are the best mitigation efforts against the virus and reduce the chances that we will overwhelm the health system. Eighty percent of persons contracting Covid-19 have a mild to moderate case. Wash hands. Avoid touching your face. Avoid touching surfaces. Cover coughs. Stay Home.
The Selectboard convened on Monday night at Town Hall, with a couple speakers in attendance; the black and white duck decoy that presides over the Town Clerk’s office was still there; the chairs were all set up in rows. That’s where the similarities ended. The emergency meeting had four Selectboard members in attendance plus one on the phone, a representative from fire and rescue was on hand to speak, and Town Administrator Dean Bloch, a meeting regular, was also present. Some stood, some sat, in a circle, all consciously and purposefully six feet apart. The meeting was to set the course for town action regarding the coronavirus pandemic. With no precedent for this situation, the Selectboard progressed methodically through the agenda items: figuring out what to do about the upcoming April vote to approve items voted on at Town Meeting, determining when and how town employees would be able to work remotely and what would happen at the town offices in their absence, deciding what to do about town boards, committees, and commissions and their upcoming meetings, and making a plan for Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue to work in tandem with the Selectboard. One thread ran through most of the discussion: how to minimize spread of the virus, how to keep it from affecting town employees and Charlotters as much as possible, and how to do those things while remaining within the confines of regulations and statutes set forth by state government.
Selectboard members and meeting attendees remained six feet apart—or more—during the entirety of Monday’s meeting. Photos by Chea Waters Evans
Working remotely Chris Davis, present as the town’s emergency management director from CVFRS, said that the reality of the situation for any town office or gathering is a potential quarantine. “It can happen to any of us at any time,” he said. He recommended that Charlotte take guidance from other towns in the area regarding employees and public access to the building. Bloch said that it would be fairly easy for employees to work from home, with some online file systems already in place and other communication tools readily available. He said that should employees come to the building, it might make sense to lock the door, post the
town’s phone number on the door, and have visitors call from cell phones, if possible, to figure out what action town employees needed to take. “One [contagious] visitor can trigger a self-quarantine,” Davis pointed out. To illustrate the potential spread, Davis said that he knows of several college kids, some of many whom were sent home by schools or trips abroad, who just arrived in town over the last week, some by plane, all of whom are back with parents who are probably still going to work. Matt Krasnow, Selectboard chair, said he agreed that the risk was high of “people coming in and contaminating the place.” see SELECTBOARD page 4
CCS and CVSD update Chea Waters Evans
food shelf to support families and community members finding themselves in need.
Following is a letter from the Champlain Valley School District. In addition to the broad communication from the district office, Charlotte Central School Co-Principal Jen Roth said in an email, on behalf of the school, which was open March 16 and 17, “Our CCS faculty and staff have done a remarkable job using the precepts of our school to model the calm necessary for our students to feel safe and to carry on with what they know. At a time with many uncertainties, we need to hold onto what we believe.
If we could reiterate anything to you, it is that we need to model calm. “
We take care of ourselves: self-care, healthy routines of sleep and exercise, managing stress. We take care of others: being kind and patient, washing our hands as often as feasible and lending a hand where it is needed. Taking care of our own families as they face uncharted challenges--medically, physically and emotionally. We take care of this place: not only are we extremely grateful for the custodians who keep our school deep-cleaned daily, but we are also thinking about the broader community of Charlotte. We are collecting supplies for the
We appreciate the time it takes for you to fill it out. The information will help us with further planning. Devices and materials going home
March 16, 2020
CVU students all have their devices already.
Dear CVSD Community,
Students in the preK-8 schools:
We will be sharing regular communications with you as this week unfolds. Recognize that principals, teachers, and District administration have been working to do our very best with this intense situation. Right now, we need our teachers and principals focusing on our students and their well-being over the next few weeks. The CVSD community has been nothing but supportive. This support drives our team forward. Thank you.
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Chromebooks will be ready and available for grades 3-8 for pick up starting on Friday morning. We will have more details about that in the coming days.
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Other materials may also be picked up at this time.
We will share information as often as we can. Today, we hope to gather some information from you and provide answers to immediate questions. Survey for families We are sharing a confidential, online survey that we ask families to complete and submit as soon as possible. http://bit.ly/CVSDRemoteLearning
Maintenance of Learning •
The leadership team will be meeting on Wednesday.
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Teachers will continue to be working on this during staff meetings, during earlyrelease Tuesday, and on Thursday and Friday. They will be in communication with families as soon as they possibly can. Please give them the time to do the necessary collaborative planning that a change like this warrants. see SCHOOLS page 3
