Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1232823
10 UCW APRIL 8-14, 2020 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM e Cumberland County School dis- trict has expanded Cumberland@Home digital educational content for third through eighth-grade students. "Now that we will be out longer because of CO- VID-19, it's vital that our teachers are able to provide students instruction," said CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr. Cumberland@ Home was developed by Cumberland County Schools as a remote learning opportunity. Teachers can assign third grade through eighth-grade pupils studies requiring the use of computers with internet access. Students who do not have devices or online connectivity should contact the Cumberland@ Home technology hotline at 910-678-2618. Pre-K through second-grade students have already been provided paper and pencil packets. Packets are also available to download at www.cumberlandathome. ccs.k12.nc.us. High school students will continue to receive their supplemental assignments digitally. Students who do not have devices or internet con- nectivity should contact the Cumberland@Home technology hotline at 910-678-2618. Local government services transition to a new normal Much of the day-to-day operation of county gov- ernment has been minimized. Most county govern- ment departments are temporarily closed in order to mandate personal separation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Local government should set an example by lim- iting the exposure of our workforce and contributing to the potential spread of this virus," said County Manager Amy Cannon. Contact information and closure details are avail- able on the County's COVID-19 webpage at http:// www.co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19closures. ey are also listed on individual departmental web- pages. e department of public health remains open to the public. Appointments are required for all services via email at Clinicappointments@ co.cumberland.nc.us. or by phone at 910-433-3600. Fayetteville City Hall and all city buildings are closed to the public to mitigate the spread of COVID19 and keep citizens and employees safe. All recreation centers are closed. e downtown FAST Transit Center closes at 7 p.m. daily. Following the example set in the Triangle, bus rides are now free. Most city services can be accessed online by visiting Fayette- villeNC.gov/COVID19. Also, Mayor Mitch Colvin has directed staff to cancel all boards and commissions meetings until further notice unless a board has time-sensitive items requiring action. Health and medicine update To protect staff and patients from COVID-19 Cape Fear Valley Health System locations, includ- ing hospitals and outpatient clinics, are closed to visitors until further notice — with a few exceptions: Laboring mothers may have one support person/ coach for the duration of their stays. If the support person/coach leaves the premises for any reason, he or she will not be allowed to return to the building. Pediatric patients: Legal minors may have one par- ent or guardian with them. Patients who need health care decisionmakers or require communication as- sistance may have one person with them. End-of-life patients will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate number of visitors. PWC Cares e United States has approximately 160,000 public water systems, which serve 84% of the nation, providing water for domestic, industrial and com- mercial uses. Businesses, factories, hospitals, clinics and other public health infrastructure entities need water to maintain operations. Homes and com- munities are dependent on a continuous supply of water. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community water systems could face shortages of personnel. Employee shortages would affect production, dis- tribution, water quality testing and payroll systems. Labor shortages caused by a pandemic could also lead to insufficient power, parts, supplies and water treatment chemicals. Fayetteville's hometown utility is taking precautions to protect its customers and employees from the impact of COVID-19. PWC's drinking water is safe from the COVID-19 threat. e World Health Organization says conventional water treatment methods that utilize filtration and disinfection deactivate the virus that causes CO- VID-19. PWC urges customers to be cautious of scammers who may attempt to take advantage of the pandemic. Public Works will never call or contact customers demanding immediate bill payments to avoid disconnection. During the crisis, PWC will not disconnect services for nonpayment. Bills are not being waived. Customers are being given additional time to pay. Fort Bragg commissaries are cracking down on unauthorized customers Military commissaries worldwide are more closely checking the IDs of customers at store entrances in response to COVID-19-related crowding con- cerns, commissary officials said. Stores have also eliminated early-bird shopping to allow more time for cleaning and restocking, the Defense Commis- sary Agency said on its website. e agency said it believes the ID checks and visitor restrictions "will reduce the number of people in our stores and help with social distancing." Individual commissaries may also need to limit purchase quantities of some products. Shelves at commissaries in Germany and elsewhere have run short of disinfectants and toilet paper, as well as some foods like rice and meat. "We are increasing deliveries to our overseas commissar- ies, including shipments of high-demand items," the agency said on its website. Distance learning by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.