Once in your lifetime, or quite possibly never in your lifetime, it will happen. A pandemic – Adjective 1. (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world. (Synonyms: widespread – prevalent – pervasive – rife – rampant – epidemic – universal – global.)
This was the first for me. The challenge of finding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and even certain foods has been astounding. Orders to stay home, and the closing of schools and businesses – life has been altered. Changes have happened. Nothing has remained as it was. Sickness and death have been real. An insurance company once said, “Life comes at you fast,” and that has really resonated somewhat with us all. How to react? Where is the rulebook? What to do first, or second or at all? Take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly – over and over and over again.
With that said, my life was changed in the blink of an eye, as I’m sure was yours. I became a homeschool teacher to my third-grade daughters, the appointed grocery shopper for my home and the home of my older family members, a downtown business owner, which is classified as “essential” in a crazy time of uncertainty and mayor of the town I live in and love that will be under strict guidelines of state and federal mandates, and CDC regulations and guidelines to follow and adjust to, to name a few.
Each day has become a challenge and learning curve as never before. What we had all hoped would last for a few weeks, or maybe a month, but certainly not over two, and heaven help us if it lingered into the third, is now becoming a reality affecting plans even into the fall and winter.
Then comes the time the town council and I, along with the qualified assistance of our town manager and finance officer, began to get ready for the new year ahead, which begins July 1, by preparing our budget. This is a task we complete every year, and each year we face a few challenges, but this year, well, let’s begin with knowing that due to business closures, the projected loss from sales tax revenue we receive from the state will be around $63,000-65,000. Add to that the cost of keeping everything running as usual, meeting the continuing needs of our various departments, and facing uncertainty as to when the state will be opening back up to capacity, and therein lies a challenge of sorts. The end of that story is the budget is prepared and is available for review as I write this, and we plan to have the public hearing and adopt the budget at our first meeting in June, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 8. As always, this meeting is open to the public.
Now, to address the issues that have many “up in arms.” The fireworks in Spruce Pine on the Fourth of July have been canceled, and the pool in Brad Ragan Park will not open this season. These decisions were not easy to make and were not measures to save money. These decisions were made with the best interests of each of you in mind.
Safety was the foremost factor involving these decisions. We could use fund balance to make both of these activities happen and would not hesitate, but that is not the issue, safety is – your safety, our safety, our employees’ safety, your parents’ and grandparents’ safety, your kids’ and grandkids’ safety. I’m not sure how to say it any plainer than that. Fireworks means a gathering of crowds, and no, not everyone stays in their car, and not everyone practices social distancing. COVID-19 is not history yet and is still present in this community. Swimming pools mean urine in the water, mucus in the water, sputum in water, maybe vomit in the water and possible rescue in the water involving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and again crowds or monitoring crowds and food prep in the snack shack and employees and sanitation issues, not to mention the five pages of guidelines for this endeavor. And yes, other towns are doing it and yes, there are many, many towns not doing it. At the end of the day, as far as the town of Spruce Pine and the town council is concerned, this is about following CDC recommendations, guidelines and safety. Period. This pandemic has caused many disappointments, as many plans have been canceled. Still, we are stronger and smarter than to let disappointment define us and cause us to be self-centered and not interested in the greater good of all. Some will agree, some will disagree, but “it is what it is,” and this will not last forever. Erring on the side of caution is only logical.
I give many thanks and heartfelt appreciation to all of those working in a medical capacity daily to bring treatment and healing to those affected by this virus. And to all of our essential workers who have worked and are still working to make things available we need daily, we thank you and appreciate you.
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Darla Harding is serving her second term as mayor of Spruce Pine.