OCR Text |
Show Viewpoints The A-13 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, March 28-31, 2020 editorial Park Record needs community’s help as it continues vital mission T letters to the editor Drink your medicine “Drink lots of fluids,” doctors always advise their sick patients, but many people don’t seem to take such advice seriously. Though I am no longer a practicing physician, I was recently consulted by a person who was worried that their coronavirus-infected spouse was getting weaker and weaker but was unwilling to drink because they didn’t feel thirsty. After that sufferer increased their fluid intake, the lethargy improved. Many infected persons do not feel thirst and are not intrinsically motivated to increase their fluid intake in spite of having high fever. Yet even a minimal rise in body temperature can cause dehydration. Many of the symptoms of a febrile illness, such as headache, body aches, weakness and fatigue are actually caused by the intracellular dehydration that results from fever. Dehydration may be further aggravated by excessive urine output or diarrhea, which may also occur with coronavirus. Increasing your fluid intake means drinking much more than you might normally be inclined to do. Any nonalcoholic or non-caffeinated beverage will do. If the patient will only drink caffeinated tea or Coke, that’s still better than not drinking. Failure to stay well hydrated stresses the heart, the kidneys, the brain and every other organ and cell in your body, making you sicker. Even a very minimal level of dehydration can impair cognition, judgment, mood, energy, coordination and the ability to fight the infection. It is also important to increase your salt intake when you increase your fluid intake, but persons with heart failure or kidney disease should check with their personal physicians regarding intake of fluid and salt. For everyone else, it doesn’t matter whether or not you feel thirsty. If you have a febrile illness, and especially if you have diarrhea, drinking extra fluids is your most important “medicine.” Beverly Hurwitz Park City Grateful for the hard work Thank you to the Park City School District and teachers for their thoughtful and nimble response to educate our students at home! We are so lucky that our students already have laptops in place for home learning and are familiar with many of the programs and protocols for using them successfully. I’ve been so impressed with the efforts made by my daughters’ teachers to engage them online and develop routines for them to stay on track academically during this challenging time. Many educators have even integrated COVID-19 and the recent earthquake The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Alexander Cramer Ryan Kostecka Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor............. Jeff Dempsey Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Distribution........................... Henry Knight ADVERTISING Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Director of Digital Marketing .. Tina Wismer Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ......................... Louise Mohorn into their lessons. You are an impressive group and we are all so grateful for your hard work! Stephanie Donovan Snyderville Basin Stevens is the leader we deserve Summit County deserves a leader with experience in the front lines. Malena Stevens is that leader with her experience in public service. I have had the opportunity to observe her honesty as well as her pragmatic and hopeful insights into our community’s problems and needs. Her willingness to examine the issues and listen closely to the public’s questions and concerns are just what Summit County residents need. I believe she is well qualified to continue the amazing work that the Summit County Council has begun and will be a great addition to the council. Malena has been a prominent voice in community affairs and volunteer programs. Her experience in working for the Park City Police Department, volunteering her time with the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission, and various other committees are evidence of both skill and dedication all on top of being an amazing mother. She has also been a spokesperson for the prevention of domestic violence and suicide, both issues we, unfortunately, see in our community. For these reasons, I confidently recommend her for Seat C of the Summit County Council. Junior Enrique Sanchez Park City County will be better off with Stevens I have lived in Park City for a long time — both as a teenager and an adult — and I am now raising three young daughters and a son in Summit County. Having lived through the changes that have taken place in this county, I have been impacted by the policy decisions made. I truly believe that it is so important for our County Council to have diversity. Decisions are different when we are represented by people with different backgrounds, and it is critical that we have women representing a county. Kim Carson has been such an essential voice on Summit County Council for the better part of a decade, and her influence has made an enormous impact. Just as Kim has endorsed Malena Stevens to replace her on the Summit County Council, I want to also voice my enthusiastic support. Malena has been contributing to this community in countless ways during the eight years she has lived in Summit County. Through her work at Park City Police Department, she understands law enforcement and emergency management. This, we are all too aware, is crucial for our leaders amid the current COVID-19 pandemic and surrounding uncertainty. Malena established the Victim Advocacy Program for Park City Police Department and understands how to act quickly and how to effectively help during a crisis. Her experience working on the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission, Affordable Housing Taskforce, Kimball Junction Master Plan Committee, and her master of public administration degree have fortified Malena’s understanding of the planning process. Additionally, she has fantastic ideas for improvements to the code which will safeguard our quality of life. Malena is a mother, like me, and she wants this community to be just as wonderful for our children as they grow up as it has been for us. I want my daughters growing up living in a community where they have examples of strong women leaders. Malena has the experience, education and heart to represent our county well as we recover from this crisis and move forward. he coronavirus and the strict but prudent measures officials have taken to protect the public from it have been a body blow to the Park City-area economy. Businesses have been shuttered. The operations of others that remain open, such as restaurants, are severely restricted. Companies throughout the area are confronting a period of uncertainty. The Park Record is no exception. Like many other local businesses, we find ourselves in a challenging position as the advertisers that are our primary source of revenue themselves grapple with the effects of the pandemic and make difficult decisions about their own futures. It’s a situation requiring a drastic response. To that end, we have implemented salary reductions of 20% at all levels and in all departments of our paper. Additionally, we have taken the difficult step of furloughing two newsroom employees — our sports reporter and our copy editor — though our intention is to bring our staff back to full force as soon as economic realities improve. Readers will notice the effects of these actions beginning in Wednesday’s edition, perhaps most noticeably with the absence of the sports section, a move we hope — and believe — is temporary. The irony, of course, is that the tumult of recent weeks across the country has underscored the irreplaceable role of local journalism. As the coronavirus has upended daily life in Summit County and Park City, The Park Record staff has worked tirelessly, and at all hours of the day, to rise to the challenge of keeping readers informed about the rapid changes happening around them. Our coverage has included breaking news reports on weekends about critical developments in this ev- er-evolving story, articles offering insight into the economic ramifications of the pandemic and information about the actions of government officials in the face of the crisis. We have also sought to highlight the good that is happening here right now, from a local distiller that is producing hand sanitizer to nonprofits that are ensuring residents out of work have access to food and other necessities. That’s in addition to providing crucial information about the most important part of this situation: how people can stay safe and the appropriate steps to follow should they fall ill. Newsroom staffers have seldom been more proud of their work. And now, more than ever, we need the backing of readers to ensure we’re able to continue providing robust journalism to our community. For that reason, we’ve installed a “Subscribe” button at the top right of our website, as well as a “Donate” button that appears there and at the bottom of each article. We understand The Park Record is just one of many local businesses looking to the community for support right now, and we encourage residents to help as many as they can. Even small amounts add up, and the money gathered will be used to support the journalism that appears on readers’ doorsteps twice a week and on their computer screens each day. This year marks the 140th our paper has delivered the news to Summit County and Park City. While our current circumstances are difficult, it is not the first challenge we have weathered. We intend, with the support of the people we serve, to continue fulfilling our mission for decades to come. perspectiVe When coronavirus hits you, it hits you hard DAVID MARSTON Writers on the Range When my wife, Edel, a teacher, developed a cough after working with a woman who came to the elementary school slightly sick, we assumed it was just that, a cough. The word from New York Mayor De Blasio to parents was still, “Come to school,” though many teachers seemed to be skipping, choosing personal safety over their job. That was Friday, March 13. On Saturday, we had six friends over for a St. Patty’s gathering. We didn’t hug, but we drank and ate and stood far too close to one another. By Wednesday, my wife felt better, but I warned: “Stay home. That cough could be COVID-19.” Meanwhile, her co-teacher got tested for the virus. It was two weeks later that we learned she’d tested positive. Thursday, I felt fine, but by 10 a.m., a headache set in and I began to ache everywhere. That night I had a fever of 101. With our 4 ½ year old we watched “Frozen,” the Disney movie, and I longed to be zapped by Princess Elsa with a big cloak of ice. Friday the virus had its way with me: All night I shivered though loaded up with blankets, and in the morning my temperature spiked to 103. Everything ached, especially my head, and my throat was sore. When I took a breath there was a rattle deep in my lungs. My primary care physician had blunt advice: “You can’t be tested until you display respiratory distress and a high fever. Until then, hunker down.” But I alerted my friends from Friday’s party that I probably had COVID-19. No one had symptoms but I worried: One friend had visited his aging dad in the hospital on Wednesday. If I’d infected Rick, he could pass it to his father. I felt guilty on top of feeling sicker. By the end of the week — and two weeks later — Rick was still healthy. I was relieved more than I can say. From my bed I tried to plan. If my fever stayed above 102 and I started gasping for breath, then I could be admitted to a hospital, intubated if necessary, but first given oxygen. But maybe I could be tested for COVID-19 No one knows where our community will be in the future, but I know that we will be better off with Malena joining our other County Council members in leading Summit County. Christina Coonradt Pinebrook A person who makes Park City great We all want to give Lou Awodey a huge shout out and thank you for and know for sure what was going on. Meanwhile, a friend in Colorado joked that testing was overrated. He said his state had discovered an easy way to beat the pandemic: “We hardly have any tests so everybody must be doing great!” Of course, the carriers of the virus throughout the country have been walking around for some time, a hidden scourge. This remains true even in Denver, where my friend Jeff took his son, suffering from what seemed like the virus, to the hospital. The teenager was admitted to the emergency room but then released when he was found not to be wheezing. He was given a prescription to be tested at a later date. Now he is hanging out at home, isolated. It’s the same for me. I stay away from my daughter but we have one bathroom. So far she seems fine, one of the lucky youngsters who seems able to shake off the virus. It is March 25, and my temperature is finally normal. I think a ventilator is not in my future, ending my mother’s panic and my wife’s sleepless nights. All I feel now is exhaustion. All I can do is stay in bed. But everything I read tells me that COVID-19 is sweeping through New York City. Social distancing is well underway, but some people, for whatever reason, don’t accept the danger. Will we lose 3 percent of our population to COVID-19, which is what happened during the Spanish Flu of 1918? I’d like to think something good might come from my experience. Once I recover, and if I’m no longer a threat myself, maybe I can help others with my hard won immunity. I still might come out of this with damaged lungs, but during the night when I was most miserable, I assured myself that whatever happened, I had made a will and I had life insurance. But then I had to wonder: Would my life insurance company still be solvent? That’s our crazy world these days. David Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively discussion about the West. He grew up in western Colorado and lives in New York. everything he is doing for Park City. Every winter Lou grooms the White Pines cross-country ski loop on the Park City municipal golf course. In the winter, he’s out there every day grooming the trails at the crack of dawn. He does an exemplary job and the skiers who use the track all agree that his grooming skills are impeccable. But not only that, he is an amazing and caring Park City citizen. White Pines closed more than a week ago. Nevertheless, Lou has been an amazing citizen as he continues to groom the trails for cross-country skiers to use for social distancing exercise during this time of COVID-19 isolation. Lou has done this on his own with no pay, working tirelessly every morning to maintain the good grooming. We simply say, “Thank you so much, Lou. We appreciate it.” My thank you is simple but my feelings about it are deep. It is people like Lou that make Park City great. I am so happy that I call Park City my home. Ellen Hendrickson Park City |