AMERY
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 VOL. 128 NO. 8 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00
Masks now required at Amery schools
COVID-19: What is your county’s risk classification?
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
According to parent survey results from a questionnaire sent out to families by the School District of Amery, an overwhelming amount of families want to see school return to in person learning this fall and they will get their wish. The recommendation passed by the Board of Education is to reopen the Amery schools Sept. 1, for the 2020-2021 school year. Amery schools will be in session for an in person, five-day school week with many safety measures in place for students and staff. In the first of two meetings of Amery’s Board of Education during the month of July, it was stated masks would be required for all staff and highly recommended for students. A week later, those sentiments had changed. July 20, the board voted unanimously to require masks for all. In grades K-5 students will be required to wear masks, except for times when they are with their
As new COVID-19 statistics come out each day, new terms and classifications seem to be used when describing the virus’s activity level in areas. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has come up with classifications they feel give local communities the tools they need to respond to COVID-19. DHS has made a shift to assessing the COVID-19 activity level in counties by labeling them low, medium and high. These classifications are being used to by some entities as decision-making tools in terms of deciding whether or not area activities should be taking place. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is just one who is looking at the DHS classifications as they prepare to make decisions about a fall sports season. According to the DHS website, “At the request of our
SEE REOPENING, PAGE 23
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
Reelin’ in the diploma Gus Wentz is shown at Amery High School’s Graduation July 16, 2020. More photos of the event on pages 11 & 14.
WI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES
Map shows low risk (lightest blue), moderate risk (medium blue) and high (dark blue) counties.
local public health partners, and in recognition of the fact that local decisions now drive our response efforts we are adding tools to our toolbox to fight COVID-19.” The activity level map is the first in a series of data dashboards that DHS will provide to help communities and individuals assess their COVID-19 activity level and response. SEE RISK, PAGE 24
Decision on fall sports is a battle all of its own BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
To play or not play is the question and it is certainly a complicated question when it comes to the fate of the fall sports season. It is a timely topic being tackled by districts statewide before practices begin. Amery High School Director of Athletics Jeff Fern shared a few scenarios being kicked around by the WIAA during July’s special meeting of
Amery’s Board of Education. Prior to doing so, District Administrator Shawn Doerfler told those in attendance that reopening schools this fall and figuring out how to handle athletics, “Has been one of the more difficult topics with this whole picture.” Doerfler said, “We have fall sports coming up in a matter of three weeks. I am here to tell you fall sports looks different based on the sport.” Different sports have different COVID-19 risk, based on the amount of
Your healthcan’t-wait partner NEWS 715-268-8101 editor@theameryfreepress.com
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
Will teams from different counties like Amery and Baldwin-Woodville, have the opportunity to compete against eachother this fall?
contact had while participating in the sport. Of the fall sports offered in Amery, football has
been given a risk rating of “high” while tennis, soccer and volleyball have been put
into the “medium” category. Golf and cross-country have been classified as “low” risk. The way counties are now classified by the state as high, moderate or low each Wednesday also plays a part in the decision to let a competition take place between schools of various locations. At the current time, all Middle Border Conference (MBC) schools are located in counties considered “high risk” by the state (Polk, SEE SPORTS, PAGE 24
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