T'dad Talk - August 6, 2020

Today, we take a look at back-to-school plans around the Las Animas County area and in the state, the Incline in Manitou Springs will soon reopen. In the Nation, NBA’s bubble continues to work to keep basketball free from COVID-19.

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Transcript

For today, we’ll see sunny skies with highs around 90 degrees and a slight chance of afternoon showers. Tonight, we’ll drop to lows for the region around 60 degrees. 

For Friday, Sunny skies again with highs again hovering around 90 degrees.

Depending on what district you are in, back-to-school this fall could look very different with concerns over the global pandemic still running high. Because Colorado has made it a point to allow local governments to make their own rules, a unified plan across the state for starting school up again just doesn’t exist. 

However, recently the Colorado Department of Education along with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) released guidelines for helping individual school districts make plans for their own district with respect for their county’s count of active COVID-19 cases. With several districts already having submitted plans to the Las Animas and Huerfano County Health Department, which were accepted, we’ve included a rundown of several schools’ plans for reopening in today’s issue of The Chronicle. 

Although no final word has been heard on whether or not the plan submitted by the district has yet been accepted, TSD1 Superintendent Dr. Bonnie Aaron said the plan developed by their committee, made up of numerous educational professionals and staff, was to return to school with “hybrid” learning. The first day of school for the district is September 8.

With plans submitted and accepted by the county Health Department, Primero is planning to begin school August 17 using a “hybrid” model for sixth grade through twelfth, in person every day for Kindergarten (K) through fifth grades, and every other day for Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K). 

Both Trinidad and Primero are offering full remote learning to students and families still concerned with COVID-19.

Hoehne School District, like Trinidad, has submitted plans to the health department for approval and are awaiting their decisions, but said they are hoping for a four day a week, in-person plan as it had been in the past, with accommodations to the state’s guidelines for in-person requirements. The first day back for students, should the plan be approved, is scheduled for August 31.

If you have a student/s in any of these districts, send us a message on our Facebook page and share your thoughts and feelings about back to school plans in your district. We’d enjoy hearing from you. Additionally, we’ll be updating this story online as more information becomes available.

Today in the state, in a virtual Manitou Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, a motion to reopen the Incline with a free reservation system was passed on a 5 to 2 vote Denver Post reported yesterday. 

The action to reopen the trail was achieved by approving a Memorandum of Understanding with Colorado Springs, which will operate and manage the reservation system. Manitou Public Works will be maintaining the Hiawatha parking lot, and installing parking kiosks.

The Incline was closed to the public in late March because of coronavirus concerns. This plan hopes to reopen the trail while regulating the number of people allowed on it at one time. 

The free reservation system would allow 35 people on the trail per 30-minute window for the first two weeks of operation. Then, it would allow 45 people per 30-minute window in the weeks following.

The access to the Incline would be from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m, and reservations could be made up to a week in advance. Unless a person arrives on a bicycle or on foot, anyone who wants to hike the Incline must prove they parked at Hiawatha Gardens or the Iron Springs Chateau, provided the Iron Springs Chateau implements a parking system. A wristband would be required for hiking the trail.

Today in the nation, Associate Press reported that the NBA has released its latest results Wednesday for coronavirus tests performed on players participating in the restarted season at Walt Disney World: The numbers are still perfect. 

Of the 343 players tested since results were last announced July 29, none has been confirmed positive.

That means no player has tested positive since entering the so-called bubble last month. There were two players who tested positive on arrival at Disney, with neither of those making it out of quarantine and potentially exposing anyone inside the bubble.

Everyone inside the bubble must fill out a questionnaire on their mobile device each morning, plus measure their temperature and level of oxygen in their bloodstream. 

Social distancing rules are in place and mask usage — mandated since the start of the rebooted season — has been an even higher priority this week, with the league stiffening some standards and requiring teams to hold meetings with players so they can be reminded to be vigilant.

Happening today, join Dr. Ivory Raye for a Health Talk at 11 a.m. presented by Mount Carmel. To join in on the meeting, visit MountCarmelCenter.org.

If you know of any upcoming events we should be aware of, please feel free to reach out to us here at the Chronicle News so we can make sure to spread the word!

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This is Cameron Wayne, have a great day!