Cavendish Update: 3/17/20 Happy St. Patrick's Day

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3/17/20: Happy St. Patrick’s Day

1.Meet the Cavendish Covid-19 Team

2. What’s Happened in the Last 24 Hours

3. Volunteers Needed

4. A poem from Ireland this St. Pat’s Day

1.THE CAVENDISH COVID-19 TEAM: Yesterday was the first in person meeting of the Cavendish Covid-19 Team (CCT). We met outside in the parking lot of the town office standing more than six feet apart, and there are pictures on Facebook to prove it. The CCT includes, alphabetically:

• Margo Caulfield: That would be me-Cavendish Connects/Cavendish VT Facebook page

• Doris Eddy: Health Officer

• Bob Glidden: Town Emergency Coordinator, Deputy Chief Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Dept.

• Abe Gross: Cavendish Volunteer Fire Dept Chief, Pastor Cavendish Baptist

• Peter LaBelle: Black River Good Neighbor, Town Auditor

• Brendan McNamara, Town Manager

• Diane McNamara: Town Clerk, Treasurer

We’re in daily contact and meeting in person as needed, six feet apart and outside. I had hoped to have the Hunkering Down Resources Handout for you this AM, but the team has to approve it so we’ll have it up later today. In the meantime, we have updates under Item 2.

The town’s response is being coordinated out of the Town Office, which is fully staffed but closed to the public. In short folks-we got this! Take a deep breath and know that CCT is on the case.

2. WHAT’S HAPPENED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS: If it feels like we’re being shut down, and it’s making you feel a bit frightened or scared, that’s okay. Totally normal as our brains are wired for fear. A great device to keep the humans alive on the African savannah. However, it’s back firing in today’s society, where we are blasted 24/7 with some variation of “if it bleeds it leads.”  That would be like the early hunters and gatherers having to deal with a tiger ready to pounce on them continuously. We wouldn’t have made it as a species if that were the case. So hold on to the good in your life and let the fear go. Thinking there isn’t much good? Well thanks to social distancing, I can eat garlic and go to a meeting without offending anyone.

• Gotta give a shout out to Denise of dg Bodyworks. Not only did she do a drive by TPing-as one of our residents was without toilet paper yesterday, but she held a free Facebook live class at 7 pm last night!! You rock! Love our Cavendish Tough Girl.

• Cases are rising in Vermont and yesterday’s were all “community acquired.” In other words, they had no risk factors. If the account and the amount is of interest to you, read more, otherwise move on. Being obsessed by numbers can make you nuts. We know the virus is here and we have people in quarantine, but remember 80% of those will have very mild or no symptoms. That noted, don’t assume anyone is safe and practice the 4 S’s-Social Distancing; Soap & Sanitize; Stay Home; & Safely Cough. In a nut shell- Be smart. Do your part. Stay Home or 6 Feet Apart.

• Ludlow Ambulance has requested the following If you are currently self-quarantined. Put a note on your front door notifying first responders of your situation. If you need emergency services notify the dispatcher of the situation at the time of your initial call. Please do not show up at any emergency services building, your primary care office or the emergency department, please call first so we can be prepared for your arrival. And only utilize these services for life threatening illnesses or injury. We’ll work on a special snazzy sign that you can post.

• They would do this on St. Patrick’s Day. Really now. Just no respect. All bars and restaurants must close by 2 pm today. To Go and Delivery only. Fortunately, Murdock’s and American Pie are offering To Go Services. Murdock’s hours will be 5-8. Credit or debit cards only. Please call ahead to place your orders. (802) 554-0126. Singleton’s is kicking it old school- Place your order 8-7 by calling 802 226 7666. Your order will be ready within a half hour and you can pick it up at the back door.

• Canada is closing the border to non-Canadian citizens and permanent residents though it is leaving an exception for United States citizens. Land border points of entry, like those along the Vermont and Quebec border will remain open.

• Both Cavendish and Ludlow Libraries are closed. However, there is free Wi-Fi, no password required at either location. Cavendish has free books, movies in the entry way and special Busy Kits for kids.

• Black River (Ludlow area) has cancelled their Community Meals but will do deliveries.  Community Meal participants have been directed to call the Sr. Center if they would like a meal delivered. 228.7241

3. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We need volunteers who can help with a number of tasks including shopping, delivering items, making check in calls and more. If you can help, please call 226-7291. All volunteer coordination-if ya need it or can do it-will be out of the Town Office.

4. AN IRISH POEM: Will be posting some Irish music on Facebook to celebrate the day and hope you made some of Brenda’s mother’s Irish Soda Bread (recipe in yesterday’s Update). 

The following is from Brother Richard Hendrick, a Capuchin Franciscan living in Ireland, who wrote this poem about coronavirus.

Lockdown by Brother Richard: 

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighborhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing

                            Be smart. Do your part. Stay home or 6 feet apart. 

                        Stay healthy to protect yourself and Cavendish.

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS

Covid 19 Update: 3/16/20 Cavendish Hunkers Down

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3/16/20: Cavendish Hunkers Down

1. Hunkering Down

2. What’s happened in the last 24 hours

3. How you can help

4. Brenda Gregory’s Irish Soda Bread

1. HUNKERING DOWN: Everybody needs an Uncle Tony to keep them on the right track. Fortunately we have Uncle Tony in Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. He deeply cares about Americans, and knows exactly what’s been happening in other parts of the world, particularly Italy, and he doesn’t want that to happen here.

His message was heard loud and clear yesterday: hunker down America to flatten the curve. The fewer people who get sick, the better the U.S. healthcare system can treat them. “I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” said Dr. Fauci. The elderly and those with underlying medical conditions should already be hunkering down — but other Americans, too, should consider “much more” restrictions on outside activity, from work and travel to possibly eating at restaurants. “Everybody has got to get involved in distancing themselves socially.”

So that’s what Cavendish and the state of Vermont are doing. Before we provide you with the daily update-a sense of humor about things can make it more bearable. Consequently,  some post items will have a few twists. It’s going to be St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow so prepare by making Brenda Gregory’s mother’s Irish Soda Bread-see Item

Expect to be “hunkered down” for about the same length of time the schools are closed and the state is under emergency conditions- April 6 but be prepared for longer.

While places are closed and events are cancelled, Cavendish is very much open. Get out and enjoy the fresh air. Wave to your neighbors- keeping 6 feet apart. This is the perfect time to do some early spring cleaning and put aside items for the July 25 (Saturday) Town Wide Tag Sale.

This will not last forever. We will get through it and we will be better for the experience.

1. WHAT’S HAPPENED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS

• All schools will be closed in VT until April 6 by order of Gov. Scott. Provisions for students who depend on the school for food will be made. As soon as we’ve heard from the TRSU about the program and scheduling we’ll post it. Note that while the Governor has given the date of March 18 (Wednesday) for all schools to be closed, CTES and GMUHS’s doors are already shut, along with BRHS, LES, CAES and Mt. Holly. Read more.

• Schools are closing in NH

• Three news cases of Covid-19 were added to Vermont’s total count. Two cases are associated with Ludlow and one of those testing positive yesterday is listed as being a 50 year old man from Suffolk County, Mass who is self-isolating in his Windsor County, VT home. Learn more

• We’re going from manual to speedier testing-not quite warp speed- this week, so expect lots and lots of positive cases to be splashed across the headlines. Just don’t look if it’s going to make you crazy. Hunkering down means not having to look at scary stuff. For those that are first responders, medical providers, elderly or have a pre existing condition, you will soon be available for priority testing, particularly once drive-through testing is here.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now advising against gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks. No large events and mass gatherings that includes "conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies."

• The toilet paper situation in Ludlow is dire and the lines are even longer at Shaw’s. Try shopping in Claremont in the off peak. Really what are people doing with all that toilet paper? We have one resident who is writing “The Toilet Paper Cookbook,” so maybe he needs a lot of cases to test his recipes. However, we’ve received one very practical suggestion, We have an outhouse . We have tons of old 100 percent cotton bed sheets . Planning to rip them up into squares and the cotton decomposes in the ground completely. Yankee ingenuity at its finest.

• Green Mountain Power to suspend collections amid Covid-19 outbreak. See there is some good news.

• VT National Guard Ready to Assist in Covid-19 Pandemic. See more positive news.

• There is a lot of misinformation about Covid-19 including ”the hold your breath test” (not true) and children don’t get it (yes they do, it’s often milder).  VT Digger has done a nice job of separating fact from fiction. Remember, for factual information, listen to Uncle Tony (Dr. Fauci).

• There are a lot of closings and changes, so please call ahead before venturing out. We should have a “Hunkering Down Resource Guide” for you tomorrow, but in the meantime, note the following:

-       Black River Good Neighbor has closed the thrift store, but you can still get help from them by calling (802) 228-3663

-       Wi-Fi is available at both the Cavendish & Ludlow Libraries. Ludlow will be closing at 2 today for the duration. You can still access Wi-Fi from their parking lot. It doesn’t require a password. Cavendish Library’s board will be making a decision today about their availability today. Cavendish’s Wi-Fi requires a password, which you can get by calling the library 226-7503 or the town office 226-7291.

-       Cavendish Town Office is closed to the public but staff is reporting to work. Call 802-226-7291 or use their website.

-       Post office is keeping normal hours.

3. HOW YOU CAN HELP: The posters from WWII, with their amazing art work and short slogans got the point across-“Do your bit and knit;” Rosie the Rivieter’s “We can do it.”

For our school kids, folks working from home or anyone who has a little bit of time, we need our own messages to remind us to stay vigilant about the 4Ss (Ssing it):

Social Distancing:

- Stay 6 feet away from other people

- Stay away from large crowds

- Avoid sick people

- Don't shake hands-opt for Namaste bow, jazz hands, wave, the gong shou gesture, or the Vulcan Live long. Note that leg shakes, fist and elbow bumps violate the 6 feet rule.

Soap (hand washing) & Sanitize (clean surfaces)

Stay Home

- if you are sick

- your child is sick

- you can telecommute (work from home)

Safely Cough

- Into a tissue

- Your arm

Any type of art work that promotes "Ssing It," we'll be posted on-line and used in handouts, with the artist getting full credit. We need all types of art and from all ages- Photographs, videos, drawings, sculptures, poems, short essays. There is no set timeline, so e-mail it to Cavendish Connects or post to Cavendish Facebook Page.

4. BRENDA’S MOTHER’S IRISH SODA BREAD: Brenda Gregory’s mother was from County Cork, Ireland. If you don’t know Brenda, she lives in Cavendish and is the most wonderful story teller. Among my favorite stories is about how she grew up during WWII. While working her family’s Victory Garden, and helping out by being a plane spotter, she managed to acquire patches from many of the American military divisions. She sewed them on two different jackets and wore them constantly.  They’re amazing.

4 cups white flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 cup sugar (I use unrefined, raw or turbo sugar)

• Blend the above.

• Cut in small lumps of butter 1 and ½ sticks and blend. Will have the consistency of a pie dough.

• Add 1 cup currants and 1 and ½ cups buttermilk and ¼ cup caraway seeds. (You can substitute rasians and it’s okay to omit the caraway seeds)

• Blend until mixed.

• Form a large ball and divide in half to form two smaller balls

On a large baking sheet (use parchment paper) lay each half. Not too close together as they spread. You can use two cake pans or cast iron skillets.

Can brush tops with a mix of 1 egg yolk plus 2 T of water and then sprinkle with sugar. (I don’t do this). Use a sharp knife to cut an “X” into each loaf. This is important because it lets the fairies out.

Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes

                      Do your part ………………………..Stay a Part (by six feet)

                        Stay healthy to protect yourself and Cavendish.

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS

Cavendish Covid-19 Update: 3/15/20

CHECK THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE DAILY FOR THE LATEST NEWS You don’t have to be a Facebook subscriber to see this page.

Covid-19 Brief 3/15/20

1.Two cases connected to Ludlow

2. How this impacts Cavendish

3. Prevention Handout

4. We know you’ve got questions

Some housekeeping issues. With Covid-19 now in our area, we will be posting first thing in the morning to summarize what’s happened in the last 24 hours and what you can expect in the day(s) ahead. Just like we did during Irene. The Cavendish Facebook page is your resource for up to date information. Sometimes we have to backtrack and delete any post that we find isn’t quite right. It’s a tad overwhelming at the moment.

Be aware that as more testing becomes available, you will be hearing of many more positive cases. Try not to freak out. This data will help to determine how adjust various prevention measures, such as more closings.

If you are feeling anxious and stressed by the rapid chain of events, know you’re having a perfectly normal reaction to a very abnormal set of circumstances. We’ll be posting tips throughout the day to help reduce some of that. This situation will not last forever, and even though we’ll be dealing with it for a while, it will get easier as we adjust to our new normal.

Finally, don’t spend all day on-line as too much information can make you crazy. It’s going to be sunny and 40 degrees-early spring weather. Get out and enjoy it but keep 6 feet from anyone you might meet. It’s all about the social distancing.

1. TWO COVID-19 CASES CONNECTED TO LUDLOW: According to the Ludlow Police Department’s Facebook page, two of the three presumptive cases of Covid-19 are associated with Ludlow. Yesterday, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) issued the following: The Vermont Department of Health reported three new presumptive positive cases in Vermont of the new coronavirus COVID-19… The first is a Windsor County male over the age of 80. He is hospitalized at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in White River Junction, Vermont. The second is a Washington County male in his 50’s. He was initially treated at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, Vermont. He is currently in home isolation, following CVMC’s home care protocols. The third new presumptive positive case is also a male in his 50’s. He is a resident of Westchester County, New York. He was evaluated and tested at Springfield Hospital in Springfield, Vermont, and is self-isolating.

2. CAVENDISH IMPACT:

TRSU Schools Closed: The following was sent yesterday at 3:59 pm by Meg Powden, Superintendent of the TRSU.
Dear Families, Teachers and Staff,

An individual from Ludlow has a presumptive case of Covid-19 corona virus. Given what I know about this situation, and after being in conversation with a nurse from the Vermont Department of Health and Secretary French of the Agency of Education, I have decided to close our schools until further notice.

Black River High School Middle School, Cavendish Town Elementary School, Chester-Andover Elementary School, Green Mountain Union School, Ludlow Elementary School and Mount Holly School are closed to students, teachers and most of our staff. Only the administration, school nurses and maintenance personnel are allowed in our buildings at this time.

I will keep you updated as our status changes.

Smiling Faces Childcare in Cavendish Will Remain open and has a couple spots available for school aged children. Call 226-7824 if you are in need of childcare during school closure

Cavendish Town Office Closed to the Public: The Cavendish Town office will be closed to all non-essential personnel starting Monday. The office staff will work normal hours and can be reached by phone 802-226-7291. The office will be closed to the public until further notice. Try the Town Website to see if it can answer some of your questions. Our Town Clerk and Treasurer left the following message on Facebook, The office may be closed but we will be there and ready to help as needed! As is said "It takes a village" and we've got not just one, but two fabulous ones.

Churches: Vermont Catholic Diocese issued a statement from Bishop Christopher Coyne that said the obligation to attend Sunday Mass has been suspended for all Catholics. Mass will still be offered in parishes. 

• The Episcopal Church in Vermont has cancelled public in-person worship.

• Cavendish Baptist Church will hold Sunday service with social distancing but will be closed after Sunday’s service.

• St. James closed today

• Calvary Church will have regularly scheduled service at 10 am

Okemo Mountain Closed for the Week: Okemo and Vail Resorts, including information for employees, click here. Other ski areas are closing, so call ahead before venturing out.

Restaurants: Goodman’s American Pie has closed their dining room until further notice. They will be doing TOGO only. Call early to get your orders at a time that works best.

3. PREVENTION INFORMATION HANDOUT: Go to the Dish for a prevention handout that you can print. It’s all about the 4 S’s-Social distancing; soap (wash those hands); Stay home when sick; Safely cough into a tissue or your arm.

We will have more handouts to make information easier for you. In the meantime, please check the How to Get What You Need section of yesterday’s Cavendish Update as it has lots of useful information.

4. WE KNOW YOU HAVE QUESTIONS: For that matter, so do we. Until we hear from VDH, we don’t know who may have an exposure risk. No need to constantly post. As soon as we know something, we’ll post it. In the mean time, follow COO of VT Medical Center’s recommendation, You should assume when you're going out and about in public right now, that you could be being exposed. And you should take all appropriate precautions, because it's out there, broader than just the two people that are currently in the hospital.”

                        Stay healthy to protect yourself and Cavendish.

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS

Protect Yourself, Your Family & Cavendish from Covid-19