Afton Star Enterprise, Afton, Iowa March 12, 2020Page8

Public NoticeUnion County Board of Supervisors

REGULAR SESSIONMarch 2, 2020

The Union County Board of Supervisors met in Regular Session on Monday, March 2, 2020. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM with the following members present: Ron Riley and Rick Friday. Dennis Brown absent.

AGENDA: Motion by Riley and seconded by Friday to approve the Agenda. All vot-ing aye, motion carried.

MINUTES: Motion by Fri-day and seconded by Riley to approve the Minutes from February 24, 2020. All voting aye, motion carried.

OPEN FORUM: No one spoke in open forum.

Brown arrived at 9:13AMENGINEER: Union County

Engineer, Zach Gunsolley, presented and discussed the weekly maintenance activity report. Resolution #27 FYR 19/20-Authorization for En-gineer to Sign: Motion by Riley and seconded by Brown to approve Resolution #27 FYR 19/20-Authorization for Engineer to Sign as follows: WHEREAS, the Board of Su-pervisors, hereafter referred to as “the Board”, believes the FM-CO88(63)—55-88, hereafter referred to as “the project” is in the best interest of Union County, Iowa, and the residents thereof. The project is defined as Granu-lar Surfacing of Roadway with Chemical Base Stabili-zation; and WHEREAS, the Board has sought appropri-ate professional guidance for the concept and planning for the project and followed the steps as required by the Code of Iowa for notifications, hearings, and bidding/letting; and WHEREAS, The Board finds this resolution appropri-ate and necessary to protect, preserve, and improve the rights, privileges, property, peace, safety, health, welfare, comfort, and convenience of Union County and its citizens, all as provided for in and per-mitted by section 331.301 of the Code of Iowa; and IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED by Board to accept the bid from Iowa Earth Works in the amount of $556,783.50 and awards the associated contract(s) to the same; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all other resolutions or

parts of resolutions in con-flict with this resolution are hereby repealed. If any part of this resolution is adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the reso-lution or action of The Board as a whole or any part thereof not adjudged invalid or un-constitutional. This resolu-tion shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its approval as provided by law; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Union County, Iowa, that after receiving the necessary contract docu-ments, including but not lim-ited to, the contractor’s bond and certificate of insurance, Zachary A Gunsolley, the County Engineer for Union County, Iowa, be and is here-by designated, authorized, and empowered on behalf of the Board of Supervisors of said County to execute the contracts in connection with the afore awarded con-struction project let through the DOT for this county. Roll call vote: Riley aye, Brown aye, Friday aye, motion car-ried. Utility Permit: Motion by Brown and seconded by Riley to approve the Utility Permit with Windstream to bore 400’ of fiber under creek and place 2 pedestals on either side of the bridge in Section 20 of Union Township. All voting aye, motion carried.

COUNTY HEALTH INSUR-ANCE RENEWAL: Mo-tion by Riley to change the County Health Insurance from Well-mark Blue Cross to Health Partners Unity Point for the county employees as recommended by Skip Lowe and Kathryn Polson from Ber-nie Lowe Associates. All vot-ing aye, motion carried.

HANDWRITTEN CLAIM: Motion by Brown and sec-onded by Riley to approve the handwritten claim #139944 to Two Rivers Insurance Com-pany for $94,977.65. All vot-ing aye, motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:25PM.BY: ___________________ RICK FRIDAY, CHAIRMAN ATTEST: _______________SANDY HYSELL, AUDITOR

Contributed by Jim Stalker, this picture of the 1937 graduating class of Afton High School adds to our collection at the ASE. Some of the names are very faint, but hopefully, all can be deciphered. There are several Afton citizens from your editor's childhood days - kindergarten teacher, feed mill operator, WWII veteran for whom our local VFW post was named, a florist, an insurance clerk, Fes-ter's mother, parents of classmates and friends. Who do you see?

Diseases can sur-prise us. We are in a much different place now, than we were a week ago. Yes, we have had serious epi-demics before and have gotten through them. “It’s just like the flu, right?” So what’s the big deal?

First, the flu virus has been around for a 1000 or more years. Humans have had plenty of time to de-velop defenses. The corona virus is brand new so humans have zero defense built up.

Second, we have no vaccine for it.

Third, people can transmit the symp-toms without showing symptoms.

Information is changing and added daily as more research comes out. No country can respond perfectly from the beginning of an outbreak. However, other countries have gotten on board fairly quickly in regards to protective equipment for health care provid-ers and testing.

We have lost some precious time in these first weeks, but we still have time to slow the spread. We won’t make it go away, but we can all help to slow this down so as not to over-whelm our health care and emergency sys-tems that have been preparing for weeks. There are important things we can do . . .

Take this seriously. This is not hype. This

is a highly contagious virus. It’s a global crisis that will not be over in a few days like the effects of a tornado or flood. This could be with us in Iowa for months or possibly longer.

DO talk about it with your family and loved ones. Who will take the ill person meals or medicine? When a neighbor or family member is in-structed to stay home to recover or is in the hospital, who will help them? Who will pro-vide childcare, feed and water livestock, care for pets, care for elderly parents, and pay the bills? Have a Plan B for every Plan A. Viruses are going to do what they want, and this one is an unknown, for which again we currently have no vaccine.

Think and talk about the “what ifs.” DO lis-ten to the experts, the scientists, the profes-sionals on the front line, the Iowa public health department, the WHO, and the CDC. DO clean door-knobs and high touch areas more often with standard disinfecting household cleaners. DO touch keypads and door handles in public areas with a Kleenex, not bare hands. Hands carry infection to the mouth, nose, and eyes.

DO carry hand sani-tizer and use often. If you are talking with someone and can smell what they had

for lunch, you are too close. DO practice so-cial distancing now. DO wash your hands good for 20 seconds, cough into your el-bow, get your yearly flu shot if you haven’t done so. If you feel un-well, take your tem-perature. If it is 100.4 and higher AND you feel sick with cold or flu symptoms – stay away from anyone.

DO cancel for now nonessential appoint-ments. DO wear a mask if you are sick. DO seek medical at-tention if you have fever, cough, and dif-ficulty breathing. Call first. DON’T get all of your information from social media. DON’T shake hands or touch your face. Viruses en-ter through the nose, mouth, and eyes.

DON’T try to be a hero and go to work sick, even though it’s a fact that so many have no paid sick time, through no fault of their own. This is not an easy fix be-cause thousands of Iowans have no safety net right now, and not going to work means not paying the bills. This issue is for the economists and busi-ness leaders to figure out, and I hope soon. I am not an economist. I have been an RN and nurse practitioner providing health care the past 30 years.

What I can tell you is if one goes to work sick, it is certain to

risk illness for cowork-ers and beyond. Give thanks to our experts in health care, our nursing home work-ers, our scientists, our emergency responders, and our health care workers on the front line. Give thanks to our school and city ad-ministrators who may have tough decisions to make in the coming weeks. We must help them all help us.

We must have ac-cess to more testing nationwide so we can identify where clus-ters of infection are and act quickly to iso-late and slow it down.

So if you read noth-ing more, please read this. This is not a drill or a dress rehearsal. If you still believe this isn’t a big deal, or if you think this is all an overreaction, I urge you to know this . . . By not practicing preventative steps consistently, you can directly endanger the health of loved ones, family, friends, and anyone you come in contact with.

In the meantime, we need to take care of ourselves. Eat well, laugh, get fresh air and exercise, and do something we love. We prepare for the worst and hope and pray for the best. We can do this as a community. It's a good thing spring is around the corner.

Peggy Noel RN, MSN, ARNP, WHNP

Creston, IA

Letter to the EditorCorona Virus: What Do We Do Now?

just an opinion from Peggy Noel, RN, MSN, ARNP, WHNP

Three of the fourteen 5th graders who performed at the solo contest held at EU on Monday - Aiden Denton, Kayden Maynard, and Rebecca Young.

Photos by MHill