STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Wood River Middle School will present the 2020 Eighth Grade Graduation Ceremony as a virtual Recognition Ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, May 22.
Each student will be honored via the first-ever Watch Party hosted on the WRMS 5B PTA Facebook page @5bparentassociation.
The link will also be on the Wood River Middle School website at https://www.blaineschools.org/Domain/15.
PARENTS ASKED TO WEIGH IN ON DISTANCE LEARNING
As the school year comes to a close, the Blaine County School District is seeking imput from families so distance learning can be improved in the future.
The survey asks about challenges, including Internet issues, not getting response from teacher or school and distractions at home. And it asks what has been effective, from class meetings via video to the student-issued Chromebook.
It also asks how the school can better support families during distance learning.
The information will be shared with administrators, teachers, the school board and the public.
Parents are asked to complete the survey by Friday, May 22 at www.surveys.panoramaed.com/blaine/springfamily20/surveys. The survey can also be found at www.blaineschools.org.
SKIING, HORSE RACING, STRIP TEASE, OH MY!
Timberline Ski Resort on Mt. Hood, Ore., has reopened for those who didn’t get enough skiing last winter. Skiers and boarders must wear googles or glasses, masks, gloves and visitors may ride chairlifts only with those whom they live with.
My Bachelor also reopened this weekend but only to season pass holders. The number of skiers will be limited to 500 each day.
A Wyoming strip club reopened this week with a “masks on, clothes off” party, according to USA Today. And plenty of hand sanitizer.
Horse racing and car racing have returned—without spectators. New Orleans has reopened for touch-less dining. And in China the number of airline flights has returned to 60 percent of pre-outbreak levels, exceeding 10,000 per day.
But, around the world, leaders are urging caution: “The virus is still there,” France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. “It moves around with our movements.”
CORONAVIRUS, BEWARE!
University of Arizona researchers have developed an antimicrobial coating that they say can keep surfaces clear of a human coronavirus for up to 90 days.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that the amount of virus on coated surfaces reduced by 90 percent in 10 minutes and by 99.9 percent in two hours, according to AFP. And it needs to be reapplied only every three to four months. If initial findings pan out, It could be very useful for high-use areas like buses.
The technology behind such self-disinfecting coatings has been around almost a decade and has been found to reduce hospital-acquired infections by 36 percent.
OPERA—IT’S NOT OVER
Australian soprano Jane Ede will perform today for the first time since the pandemic cancelled live shows. Accompanied by several musicians, she will perform in a courtyard for 450 guests who have spent two weeks in government-ordered hotel quarantine after returning from overseas.
THE NUMBERS
Idaho now has 2,419 official confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases—30 more than at last report. Of that 2,203 are confirmed and 216 probable. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare officials say 1,612 of those have recovered.
Blaine County gained one new case over the weekend and now has 508 cases.