COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 36 NO. 48 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
MEETING GOES ONLINE : Scandia City Council. PAGE 3
Scandia, Marine closes ready to teach from home
Coronavirus hits home Local businesses close, struggle with uncertainty during pandemic
BY: C.L. SILL EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
BY: C.L. SILL EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
A half dozen customers sipped midday beers and watched President Donald Trump address the nation at Brookside Bar and Grill in Marine on March 18. Most were out of work, or about to be. That evening at 5 pm the restaurant closed its doors indefinitely along with all other bars and restaurants in Minnesota. Wisconsin businesses followed close behind, leaving both sides of the river in a perpetual state of worry. “For the last couple of weeks, this was our biggest fear,” said co-owner Mandi Burmeister. “And now it’s come true.” Brookside doesn’t have the capability to provide
elements we’re doing that help both of those parties so we’re all safe and we can get healthy and get over this.” Even patients who have those symptoms and need to come into the medical center will first be tested for the flu before jumping to COVID-19. “If your test comes back negative (for flu), but still your indicators
All Minnesota public and private schools were ordered to shut down by March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those were Scandia Elementary School and River Grove Community School outside Marine on St. Croix. Both schools have now transitioned to remote learning and are keeping children busy at home during the shutdown, which has no confirmed end date. “Technically we haven’t heard how long (the closure) is going to be,” said Julie Greiman the Scandia Elementary principal. The teachers at Scandia elementary began preparing for the shutdown nearly a week in advance to map out a system for continuing curriculum during the shutdown, which educators refer to as ‘distance learning.’ She said feedback from parents was the first thing they wanted before getting a plan together. “Part of that was connecting with families to ask them how would they like this distance learning to look,” she said. “Would they like it to be a paper and pencil type of thing, do they have access to internet, all those kinds of things.” The response from most parents was very positive according to Greiman. She said most families have access to quality internet and devices at home, but that those who don’t will be taken care of as well. “In some instances where families don’t have (an internet connection), we’ll set up ways for them to come and pick up the material and then drop it back off,” she said. Teachers will also be sent home during this time, but will be continuing their work just as students are. “If a student needs to contact someone, the teachers are working 8 to 4 just like they always do,” Greiman said. “So if a student has a question they can call their teacher and their teacher will call them back and they can talk on the phone.” Greiman said she wants to reinforce the idea that the school is still available and listening, even during these difficult times. “We’re making it very clear that we’re here,” she said. “Either virtually or by phone.” River Grove Community school is in a very similar situation, although they have the added benefit of being able to send students home with a device capable of connecting to the internet if need be. “We have Google Chromebooks we’re able to check out for our students if computers are an issue,” said Drew Goodson the school director at River Grove. The school is planning to modify their distance-learning program for any students who may live in rural areas and not have access to internet. Regardless of connectivity issues, the school is prepared to offer students quality curriculum during the shutdown. “The general premise is in every core subject there will be a significant learning activity for our students,” Goodson said. “What that looks like is varied from a kindergartener to a fifth or sixth grader but our plan is to have a gainful learning activity every day.”
SEE OMC PAGE 2
SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE 36
C.L. SILL/COUNTRY MESSENGER
X
takeout orders, as some restaurants in the area have begun doing. That means all of their stock is just sitting on the shelves until they have the ability to reopen. “We’re going to lose a lot of product,” said
Grayson Taylor, another owner at Brookside. “None of our perishable items are going to last.” Savannah Harland works off and on at Brookside, as well as at another restaurant in Stillwater. She filed for
unemployment as soon as she found out she would be out of work, but that may do little to make up for her lost income. Waitressing tips are SEE BUSINESSES, PAGE 2
Osceola Medical Center readies for COVID-19 impact BY: C.L. SILL EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
The Osceola Medical Center is prepping for active cases of the coronavirus. The hospital has adopted new measures to protect workers, ensure the safety of current patients and effectively help as many people as possible. But Bob Wolf, the Director of Community Engagement, said the hospital is always diligent about those kinds of things. “We’re in health care, this is what we do,” said Wolf. “The level of preparedness is always there. When things like this ramp up then we take some additional steps to go forward.” The Center for Disease Control has published a checklist of sorts to help identify the symptoms of coronavirus. Those symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Should local residents come down with those symptoms, the medical center recommends calling before coming in. “The first part of the process is if you’re not feeling well, make that call so we can triage you to
C.L. SILL/COUNTRY MESSENGER
Osceola Medical Center
the right place,” said Matt Forge, the Osceola Medical Center Chief Executive Officer. Wolf said this is in order to help those who think they may be sick while at the same time protecting hospital staff and current patients. “There’s some fundamentals with it because it is contagious,” he said. “We want to make sure we help you if you have it, but we also want to make sure we help the rest of the community who doesn’t. So there’s
NEWS 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
ADVERTISING 651-433-3845 ads@osceolasun.com
PUBLIC NOTICES 651-433-3845 editor@countrymessenger.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS 651-433-3845 office@osceolasun.com
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone