washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Long-term jobless caught in a squeeze that imperils recovery

WASHINGTON ( AP ) - This spring , Magdalena Valiente was expecting her best year as a Florida-based concert promoter .
Now , she wonders if the career she built over three decades is over .
Back in March , Valiente had been planning five tours for Latin Grammy winners Fonseca and Andrés Cepeda and more than 20 for Miami Latin pop band Bacilos .
Earning well into six figures during good years , Valiente was hoping to help her youngest son , a high school junior , pay his way through college .
But with live events canceled , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relying on unemployment benefits and Medicaid and has applied for food stamps .
She has lost hope that the crisis will end soon .
“ I worked up from the very bottom when I started in this business in my twenties , ” said Valiente , a single mother in Fort Lauderdale .
“ There weren ’ t many other women , and it was hard .
It ’ s not easy to let it go.
” Millions of Americans in the industries hit hardest by the viral pandemic face a similar plight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into months , and it ’ s become painfully unclear when , if ever , their jobs will come back .
In the entertainment field where Valiente worked and in other sectors that absorbed heavy job losses - from restaurants and hotels to energy , higher education and advertising - employment remains far below pre-pandemic levels .
These trends have raised the specter of a period of widespread long-term unemployment that could turn the viral recession into a more painful , extended downturn .
People who have been jobless for six months or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - typically suffer an erosion of skills and professional networks that makes it harder to find a new job .
Many will need training or education to find work with a new company or in a new occupation , which can delay their re-entry into the job market .
On Friday , the government reported that employers added 661,000 jobs in September , normally a healthy gain .
Yet it marked the third straight monthly slowdown in hiring .
The nation has regained barely half the 22 million jobs that were lost to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it caused in March and April .
In a worrisome trend , a rising proportion of job losses appear to be permanently gone .
When the virus erupted in March and paralyzed the economy , nearly 90 % of layoffs were considered temporary , and a quick rebound seemed possible .
No longer .
In September , the number of Americans classified as permanently laid off rose 12 % to 3.8 million .
And the number of long-term unemployed rose by 781,000 - the largest increase on record - to 2.4 million .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ there being massive long-term unemployment , ” said Till Von Wachter , an economics professor at UCLA .
The nation now has 7 % fewer jobs than in February .
Yet the damage is far deeper in some sectors .
The performing arts and spectator sports category , which includes Valiente ’ s industry , has lost 47 % of its jobs .
It hasn ’ t added any net jobs since the coronavirus struck .
Hotels are down 35 % , restaurants and bars 19 % , transportation 18 % .
Advertising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies cut in a downturn , is down 9 % .
Higher education has lost 9 % of its jobs .
Many classes have been delayed or moved online , reducing the need for janitors , cafeteria workers and other administrators .
Normally during recessions , the education sector adds jobs to accommodate people returning to school to seek marketable skills or education .
Not this time .
Ashley Broshious took years to develop skills that now seem much less in demand .
A manager and sommelier at a Charleston restaurant , Broshious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sommeliers in South Carolina .
Still , she was laid off in March .
And when the restaurant owner reopened one of his two establishments , she wasn ’ t rehired .
Now , Broshious receives about $ 326 a week in unemployment benefits .
That ’ s not nearly enough to pay the $ 2,400 monthly rent on her home , as well as student loans , car insurance and credit card debt from a trip to Hawaii she took while still working .
“ When you spend your entire life building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ it ’ s hard to start over.
” Some economists note hopefully that this recovery has progressed faster than many analysts expected and may keep doing so .
Matthew Notowidigdo , an economist at the University of Chicago ’ s Booth School , and three colleagues predicted in a research paper that the rapid recall of temporary workers will lower unemployment to 4.6 % a year from now .
That would suggest a much faster recovery than the previous recession .
Three-quarters of the temporarily laid off aren ’ t bothering to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on an analysis of government data , apparently because they ’ re confident of being recalled .
And while the number of job openings has declined by about 17 % compared with a year earlier , according to Glassdoor , it remains far higher than during the Great Recession .
In July , the most recent month for which government data is available , there were 2.5 unemployed workers , on average , for each job opening .
That ’ s much better than the six unemployed per job opening during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are still a lot of people finding jobs fairly rapidly , ” Notowidigdo said .
Still , more than one-third of workers who have been laid off or furloughed now regard their job loss as permanent , according to a survey by Morning Consult .
That ’ s up from just 15 % in April .
Some economists , like Sophia Koropeckyj of Moody ’ s Analytics , see rising cause for concern .
Koropeckyj estimates that 5 million people will struggle to find work even after the virus has been controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pre-pandemic levels until late in 2023 , she said in a research note .
Even among some people who have managed to land new jobs , the pandemic recession has upended their financial lives .
Angela Grimley worked her way up through several Marriott Hotels in Philadelphia to become an event manager , only to have the recession kick her back down the ladder .
After months of unemployment , Grimley , 38 , found a part-time job answering customers ’ calls and emails for the Pennsylvania General Store , which sells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She loves the work .
And she feels fortunate that her boyfriend , whom she lives with , is still working .
But before the pandemic Grimley had received a new job offer as a conference and event manager at a marketing company involved in healthy parenting products .
The job would have paid much more and provided health and retirement benefits , which her part-time job doesn ’ t .
But the offer vanished in the pandemic .
The damage to her finances “ keeps me up at night , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health insurance through the Affordable Care Act , she ’ s discovered that some of her doctors won ’ t accept her new insurance .
For Valiente , no concerts are scheduled until August 2021 .
Yet she ’ s no longer confident that the public will be ready even then for packed concerts of thousands of people .
At 52 , she said , it ’ s hard to contemplate a career change .
“ By the end of the year , if things look worse , I ’ ll have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I don ’ t know what that will be in the music business , ” Valiente said .
“ I don ’ t want to go into debt because I ’ m not young , and I don ’ t have another 30 years of working .
”

WASHINGTON (AP) - This spring, Magdalena Valiente was expecting her best year as a Florida-based concert promoter. Now, she wonders if the career she built over three decades is over.
Back in March, Valiente had been planning five tours for Latin Grammy winners Fonseca and Andrés Cepeda and more than 20 for Miami Latin pop band Bacilos. Earning well into six figures during good years, Valiente was hoping to help her youngest son, a high school junior, pay his way through college.
But with live events canceled, things have turned bleak. She is relying on unemployment benefits and Medicaid and has applied for food stamps. She has lost hope that the crisis will end soon.
“I worked up from the very bottom when I started in this business in my twenties,” said Valiente, a single mother in Fort Lauderdale. “There weren’t many other women, and it was hard. It’s not easy to let it go.”
Millions of Americans in the industries hit hardest by the viral pandemic face a similar plight. Their unemployment has stretched from weeks into months, and it’s become painfully unclear when, if ever, their jobs will come back. In the entertainment field where Valiente worked and in other sectors that absorbed heavy job losses - from restaurants and hotels to energy, higher education and advertising - employment remains far below pre-pandemic levels.
These trends have raised the specter of a period of widespread long-term unemployment that could turn the viral recession into a more painful, extended downturn. People who have been jobless for six months or longer - one definition of long-term unemployment - typically suffer an erosion of skills and professional networks that makes it harder to find a new job. Many will need training or education to find work with a new company or in a new occupation, which can delay their re-entry into the job market.
On Friday, the government reported that employers added 661,000 jobs in September, normally a healthy gain. Yet it marked the third straight monthly slowdown in hiring. The nation has regained barely half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic and the widespread business shutdowns it caused in March and April.
In a worrisome trend, a rising proportion of job losses appear to be permanently gone. When the virus erupted in March and paralyzed the economy, nearly 90% of layoffs were considered temporary, and a quick rebound seemed possible. No longer. In September, the number of Americans classified as permanently laid off rose 12% to 3.8 million. And the number of long-term unemployed rose by 781,000 - the largest increase on record - to 2.4 million.
“We have a real chance of there being massive long-term unemployment,” said Till Von Wachter, an economics professor at UCLA.
The nation now has 7% fewer jobs than in February. Yet the damage is far deeper in some sectors. The performing arts and spectator sports category, which includes Valiente’s industry, has lost 47% of its jobs. It hasn’t added any net jobs since the coronavirus struck.
Hotels are down 35%, restaurants and bars 19%, transportation 18%. Advertising, one of the first expenses that companies cut in a downturn, is down 9%.
Higher education has lost 9% of its jobs. Many classes have been delayed or moved online, reducing the need for janitors, cafeteria workers and other administrators. Normally during recessions, the education sector adds jobs to accommodate people returning to school to seek marketable skills or education. Not this time.
Ashley Broshious took years to develop skills that now seem much less in demand. A manager and sommelier at a Charleston restaurant, Broshious is one of just six certified advanced sommeliers in South Carolina. Still, she was laid off in March. And when the restaurant owner reopened one of his two establishments, she wasn’t rehired.
Now, Broshious receives about $326 a week in unemployment benefits. That’s not nearly enough to pay the $2,400 monthly rent on her home, as well as student loans, car insurance and credit card debt from a trip to Hawaii she took while still working.
“When you spend your entire life building this career,” Broshious said, “it’s hard to start over.”
Some economists note hopefully that this recovery has progressed faster than many analysts expected and may keep doing so. Matthew Notowidigdo, an economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School, and three colleagues predicted in a research paper that the rapid recall of temporary workers will lower unemployment to 4.6% a year from now. That would suggest a much faster recovery than the previous recession.
Three-quarters of the temporarily laid off aren’t bothering to look for work, Notowidigdo said, based on an analysis of government data, apparently because they’re confident of being recalled. And while the number of job openings has declined by about 17% compared with a year earlier, according to Glassdoor, it remains far higher than during the Great Recession.
In July, the most recent month for which government data is available, there were 2.5 unemployed workers, on average, for each job opening. That’s much better than the six unemployed per job opening during the depths of the Great Recession.
“There are still a lot of people finding jobs fairly rapidly,” Notowidigdo said.
Still, more than one-third of workers who have been laid off or furloughed now regard their job loss as permanent, according to a survey by Morning Consult. That’s up from just 15% in April.
Some economists, like Sophia Koropeckyj of Moody’s Analytics, see rising cause for concern. Koropeckyj estimates that 5 million people will struggle to find work even after the virus has been controlled. Jobs likely won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until late in 2023, she said in a research note.
Even among some people who have managed to land new jobs, the pandemic recession has upended their financial lives.
Angela Grimley worked her way up through several Marriott Hotels in Philadelphia to become an event manager, only to have the recession kick her back down the ladder. After months of unemployment, Grimley, 38, found a part-time job answering customers’ calls and emails for the Pennsylvania General Store, which sells food and souvenirs found only in Pennsylvania.
She loves the work. And she feels fortunate that her boyfriend, whom she lives with, is still working. But before the pandemic Grimley had received a new job offer as a conference and event manager at a marketing company involved in healthy parenting products. The job would have paid much more and provided health and retirement benefits, which her part-time job doesn’t. But the offer vanished in the pandemic.
The damage to her finances “keeps me up at night,” Grimley said. Having had to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, she’s discovered that some of her doctors won’t accept her new insurance.
For Valiente, no concerts are scheduled until August 2021. Yet she’s no longer confident that the public will be ready even then for packed concerts of thousands of people.
At 52, she said, it’s hard to contemplate a career change.
“By the end of the year, if things look worse, I’ll have to come up with a plan B, but I don’t know what that will be in the music business,” Valiente said. “I don’t want to go into debt because I’m not young, and I don’t have another 30 years of working.”
___
Olson reported from New York.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--AP source: Titans have 2 new positives, none for rest of NFL

NASHVILLE , Tenn. ( AP ) - Another Tennessee Titans player , fullback Khari Blasingame , and another staff member have tested positive for the coronavirus , while the rest of the NFL returned no new positives on Sunday , a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press .
The Titans ‘ outbreak is now at 20 cases , with 18 positive tests returned since Tuesday with the addition of Blasingame to the COVID-19/Reserve list on Monday .
The results from around the rest of the league come as the NFL postponed the Patriots ’ game at Kansas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta ’ amu were both added to the COVID-19 reserve list Saturday .
Newton wrote Sunday on Instagram that he ’ ll use his time off from football to “ get healthy and self reflect on the other amazing things that I should be grateful for.
” The person who confirmed the two new cases involving Tennessee spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because neither the NFL nor the Titans had announced the latest results .
The negative test results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Burton , who falsely tested positive on Saturday .
The Saints learned of the positive test after leaving New Orleans for Sunday ’ s scheduled game in Detroit and ran another series of tests on players and staff overnight .
Minnesota , which lost to Tennessee a week ago , won at Houston 31-23 .
After that game , coach MIke Zimmer said one starter had a false positive COVID-19 result from a point-of-contact test before the game and had to take two more tests at the stadium before he was cleared to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other players whose tests were inconclusive and had to retake tests , forcing them to turn in their inactive player list about 10 minutes late .
On Monday , the league will hold a conference call with all 32 teams to reinforce the necessity of following protocols - including updates made this week after the outbreak involving the Titans - provide updates on testing and contact tracing and to share best practices .
On Monday night , the Patriots will play at Kansas City in a game airing on CBS at 7:05 p.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game will shift to an 8:50 p.m. EDT start on ESPN .
Sunday marked the sixth straight day that at least one member of the Titans ’ organization has had a positive test result return .
The Titans had hoped to get back into their building Monday or Tuesday , but they must go consecutive days without a single positive result before that can happen .
Wednesday now is the earliest they can get back in their facility , which is the day Tennessee would start practicing to prepare to host Buffalo on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to have started Sept. 24 when it placed cornerback Greg Mabin , who was on the practice squad , on the reserve/COVID-19 list .
Then outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen ’ s test result came back positive on Sept. 26 , and he did not travel with the Titans to Minnesota .
After the NFL postponed the Titans ‘ game set for Sunday against Pittsburgh , the league rescheduled it for Week 7 on Oct. 25 during Tennessee ’ s bye .
The league also moved Baltimore ’ s bye to Week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play Pittsburgh on Nov. 1 .
Officials from the NFL and its players ’ union met with the Titans on Friday to review the situation and investigate whether any protocols were ignored .
Any further outbreaks could cause much more juggling of the schedule , with speculation that the NFL could extend the regular season into January and push the playoffs and Super Bowl back on the 2021 calendar .
AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report .

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Another Tennessee Titans player, fullback Khari Blasingame, and another staff member have tested positive for the coronavirus, while the rest of the NFL returned no new positives on Sunday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The Titans’ outbreak is now at 20 cases, with 18 positive tests returned since Tuesday with the addition of Blasingame to the COVID-19/Reserve list on Monday.
The results from around the rest of the league come as the NFL postponed the Patriots’ game at Kansas City to Monday night. New England starting quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu were both added to the COVID-19 reserve list Saturday.
Newton wrote Sunday on Instagram that he’ll use his time off from football to “get healthy and self reflect on the other amazing things that I should be grateful for.”
The person who confirmed the two new cases involving Tennessee spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because neither the NFL nor the Titans had announced the latest results.
The negative test results Sunday include New Orleans Saints fullback Michael Burton, who falsely tested positive on Saturday. The Saints learned of the positive test after leaving New Orleans for Sunday’s scheduled game in Detroit and ran another series of tests on players and staff overnight.
The Saints beat the Lions 35-29.
Minnesota, which lost to Tennessee a week ago, won at Houston 31-23. After that game, coach MIke Zimmer said one starter had a false positive COVID-19 result from a point-of-contact test before the game and had to take two more tests at the stadium before he was cleared to play. The team also had three other players whose tests were inconclusive and had to retake tests, forcing them to turn in their inactive player list about 10 minutes late.
On Monday, the league will hold a conference call with all 32 teams to reinforce the necessity of following protocols - including updates made this week after the outbreak involving the Titans - provide updates on testing and contact tracing and to share best practices.
On Monday night, the Patriots will play at Kansas City in a game airing on CBS at 7:05 p.m. EDT. The Atlanta Falcons-Green Bay Packers game will shift to an 8:50 p.m. EDT start on ESPN.
Sunday marked the sixth straight day that at least one member of the Titans’ organization has had a positive test result return. The Titans had hoped to get back into their building Monday or Tuesday, but they must go consecutive days without a single positive result before that can happen.
Wednesday now is the earliest they can get back in their facility, which is the day Tennessee would start practicing to prepare to host Buffalo on Oct. 11.
Tennessee’s outbreak appears to have started Sept. 24 when it placed cornerback Greg Mabin, who was on the practice squad, on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Then outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen’s test result came back positive on Sept. 26, and he did not travel with the Titans to Minnesota.
After the NFL postponed the Titans’ game set for Sunday against Pittsburgh, the league rescheduled it for Week 7 on Oct. 25 during Tennessee’s bye. The league also moved Baltimore’s bye to Week 7, so the Ravens now can play Pittsburgh on Nov. 1.
Officials from the NFL and its players’ union met with the Titans on Friday to review the situation and investigate whether any protocols were ignored.
Any further outbreaks could cause much more juggling of the schedule, with speculation that the NFL could extend the regular season into January and push the playoffs and Super Bowl back on the 2021 calendar.
___
AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report.
___
Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--As 1st wave of Miami pupils return, some worry about safety

MIAMI ( AP ) - As Florida ’ s largest school district prepares for a first wave of students to return to physical classrooms on Monday , several teachers and parents say schools are struggling to be ready .
Parents and teachers told the Miami Herald that the ventilation and air quality at some schools are concerning because of the way the schools are designed .
A teacher told the newspaper that staff hadn ’ t received face masks , wipes or hand sanitizer at one school in order to protect against the new coronavirus .
Teachers were spacing out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that teacher .
A district spokeswoman said the school had given out cloth masks and the teacher was asking for a different type of mask .
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Saturday posted photos on social media showing schools with signage promoting social distancing and hygiene , air filters , socially distant desks and buses with hand sanitizer .
“ Spent the day conducting school visits and touring one of our bus facilities , ” Carvalho wrote .
“ Air filters have been replaced , front offices are properly equipped , our buses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and our empty classrooms are ready to welcome students back.
” Around 22,000 students in pre-kindergarten , kindergarten , first grade and students with disabilities who follow a modified schedule are returning Monday as part of the first wave of pupils coming back to in-person classes in Miami-Dade County Public Schools , the nation ’ s fourth largest district .
Meanwhile , Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber asked Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis to rethink his refusal to mandate masks statewide in light of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump contracting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor in a letter that local governments should be able to enforce mask requirements .
“ The notion that we are still debating this seems incomprehensible given the recent infections of the First Family , and the horrific impact the virus has had on our own residents , ” Gelber wrote .
Florida on Sunday had more than 1,800 new reported coronavirus cases and more than 40 new related deaths .
Florida now has had 716,459 total cases of the virus , and 14,845 related deaths .

MIAMI (AP) - As Florida’s largest school district prepares for a first wave of students to return to physical classrooms on Monday, several teachers and parents say schools are struggling to be ready.
Parents and teachers told the Miami Herald that the ventilation and air quality at some schools are concerning because of the way the schools are designed. A teacher told the newspaper that staff hadn’t received face masks, wipes or hand sanitizer at one school in order to protect against the new coronavirus.
Teachers were spacing out desks without a measuring stick, according to that teacher.
A district spokeswoman said the school had given out cloth masks and the teacher was asking for a different type of mask.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Saturday posted photos on social media showing schools with signage promoting social distancing and hygiene, air filters, socially distant desks and buses with hand sanitizer.
“Spent the day conducting school visits and touring one of our bus facilities,” Carvalho wrote. “Air filters have been replaced, front offices are properly equipped, our buses have hand sanitizer and appropriate signage, and our empty classrooms are ready to welcome students back.”
Around 22,000 students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first grade and students with disabilities who follow a modified schedule are returning Monday as part of the first wave of pupils coming back to in-person classes in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s fourth largest district.
Meanwhile, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to rethink his refusal to mandate masks statewide in light of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump contracting the virus. Gelber also told the governor in a letter that local governments should be able to enforce mask requirements.
“The notion that we are still debating this seems incomprehensible given the recent infections of the First Family, and the horrific impact the virus has had on our own residents,” Gelber wrote.
Florida on Sunday had more than 1,800 new reported coronavirus cases and more than 40 new related deaths. Florida now has had 716,459 total cases of the virus, and 14,845 related deaths.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Container vessel fuel leak contained at NJ terminal

NEW YORK ( AP ) - Coast Guard officials say a container vessel is no longer leaking fuel oil and @ @ @ @ @ terminal in New Jersey for repairs in New York .
The container vessel YM Mandate @ @ @ @ @ oil from a crack in the hull last week at the Global Container Terminal in @ @ @ @ @ that oil was being pumped from the affected tank to a barge alongside the vessel @ @ @ @ @ containment boom and absorbent pads were deployed around the vessel and skimming vessels were removing @ @ @ @ @ The Coast Guard said Sunday a dive survey found no additional damage , and the @ @ @ @ @ repairs at a different facility in the Port of New York .
The New Jersey @ @ @ @ @ Gallagher Marine Systems were involved in the response .

NEW YORK (AP) - Coast Guard officials say a container vessel is no longer leaking fuel oil and the vessel has departed a terminal in New Jersey for repairs in New York.
The container vessel YM Mandate was found to be leaking oil from a crack in the hull last week at the Global Container Terminal in Bayonne.
Officials said Wednesday that oil was being pumped from the affected tank to a barge alongside the vessel. In addition, a containment boom and absorbent pads were deployed around the vessel and skimming vessels were removing oil from the water.
The Coast Guard said Sunday a dive survey found no additional damage, and the vessel departed Saturday to undergo repairs at a different facility in the Port of New York. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Gallagher Marine Systems were involved in the response.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--New stickers honoring veterans available to Alabama voters

MONTGOMERY , Ala. ( AP ) - “ I voted ” stickers honoring veterans will be available for the first @ @ @ @ @ ballots in the general election next month .
The stickers , which will be available @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 3 , feature an outline of the state with an Alabama state flag and @ @ @ @ @ in honor of a veteran.
” The new civic-duty participation badge will be available to @ @ @ @ @ Election Day .
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Secretary of State John Merrill unveiled stickers @ @ @ @ @ Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell .
“ This new program we ’ re introducing statewide @ @ @ @ @ all our veterans , all 380,000 throughout the great state of Alabama , and the @ @ @ @ @ to our state , and to our country , ” Merrill said .
Voters can @ @ @ @ @ bumper sticker if they submit a testimonial about the veteran they are honoring at alabamavotes.gov @

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - “I voted” stickers honoring veterans will be available for the first time to voters who cast ballots in the general election next month.
The stickers, which will be available at in-person voting sites on Nov. 3, feature an outline of the state with an Alabama state flag and the words “I vote in honor of a veteran.” The new civic-duty participation badge will be available to those who vote in-person on Election Day.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Secretary of State John Merrill unveiled stickers alongside ALFA Insurance and Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell.
“This new program we’re introducing statewide will bring great recognition for all our veterans, all 380,000 throughout the great state of Alabama, and the service that they have provided to our state, and to our country,” Merrill said.
Voters can receive a lapel pin and bumper sticker if they submit a testimonial about the veteran they are honoring at alabamavotes.gov.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Georgia park to close for about 2 months for renovations

ALBANY , Ga. ( AP ) - Beginning Monday , a Georgia park in Dougherty County will be closed for renovations .
Turtle Grove Park is scheduled to be closed for around 60 days to complete the work , WALB-TV reported .
In August , the county board of commissioners voted to complete renovations to the park , totaling $ 198,449 .
County officials said one of the major renovations will be the installation of about 12,000-square-feet ( 114.8 square meters ) of poured-in-place rubberized playground surfacing .
The existing wood chips will be replaced with safer and more durable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Dougherty County Public Words department .
The renovations will also include the replacement of sun shields , which are in various parts of the park to provide shade to visitors .
The new sun shields , as well as the playground surfacing , will feature the blue and green colors included in the county ’ s new logo .
The poles will also receive a fresh coat of paint .
The contractor handling the work is Lanier Plans , Inc. of Carrollton , Georgia .
Local sales tax funds will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is set aside for park improvements .
County leaders said once the work is near completion , a grand opening date will be announced .

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - Beginning Monday, a Georgia park in Dougherty County will be closed for renovations.
Turtle Grove Park is scheduled to be closed for around 60 days to complete the work, WALB-TV reported.
In August, the county board of commissioners voted to complete renovations to the park, totaling $198,449. County officials said one of the major renovations will be the installation of about 12,000-square-feet (114.8 square meters) of poured-in-place rubberized playground surfacing. The existing wood chips will be replaced with safer and more durable padding made of recycled rubber, according to the Dougherty County Public Words department.
The renovations will also include the replacement of sun shields, which are in various parts of the park to provide shade to visitors. The new sun shields, as well as the playground surfacing, will feature the blue and green colors included in the county’s new logo. The poles will also receive a fresh coat of paint.
The contractor handling the work is Lanier Plans, Inc. of Carrollton, Georgia.
Local sales tax funds will be used for payment for the project which is set aside for park improvements.
County leaders said once the work is near completion, a grand opening date will be announced.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Indiana arts, cultural groups to share in $10M in grants

INDIANAPOLIS ( AP ) - Hundreds of arts , cultural and destination marketing groups around Indiana are set to receive a share of nearly $ 10 million in grants to give them a boost during the coronavirus pandemic .
Lt. Gov .
Suzanne Crouch announced Thursday that 479 groups will be receiving funding intended for operational support to aid organizations impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak .
The award amounts were determined by a formula that included factoring in the groups ’ budget size and previous funding they received through the CARES Act , which Congress passed in late March .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of life here in our great state , ” Crouch said in a statement .
“ I am pleased to see the arts and cultural sector , which adds to Indiana ’ s tourism economy , get this funding.
” The funding is being provided through a partnership between the Indiana Destination Development Corporation and the Indiana Arts Commission .
Lewis Ricci , the arts commission ’ s executive director , said the funding is aimed at ensuring that “ the arts and cultural community can survive ” during the ongoing pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gap , ” Ricci said in a statement .

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Hundreds of arts, cultural and destination marketing groups around Indiana are set to receive a share of nearly $10 million in grants to give them a boost during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced Thursday that 479 groups will be receiving funding intended for operational support to aid organizations impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The award amounts were determined by a formula that included factoring in the groups’ budget size and previous funding they received through the CARES Act, which Congress passed in late March.
“These organizations help enhance the quality of life here in our great state,” Crouch said in a statement. “I am pleased to see the arts and cultural sector, which adds to Indiana’s tourism economy, get this funding.”
The funding is being provided through a partnership between the Indiana Destination Development Corporation and the Indiana Arts Commission.
Lewis Ricci, the arts commission’s executive director, said the funding is aimed at ensuring that “the arts and cultural community can survive” during the ongoing pandemic.
“This funding can help bridge the gap,” Ricci said in a statement.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Delays in verifying mail-in ballots will slow election tally

Voters awaiting results in some of the key presidential battleground states on election night should be prepared to keep waiting , thanks to obstacles that will slow the count for what is expected to be a crush of mailed-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Many states allow local officials to start processing those ballots weeks before Election Day or even as they arrive .
But in some of the most crucial states on the electoral map , rules prevent or give clerks little time to begin sorting ballots and verifying signatures before the election .
That ’ s priming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in days - or even weeks - later .
In an election cycle that has seen President Donald Trump baselessly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail voting , many fear that any delay in results could give the president more room to continue his attacks .
Democrats are requesting mail-in ballots at higher rates than Republicans in many states , giving rise to the notion that Trump could enjoy election night leads - a so-called “ red mirage ” - only to see that edge slowly vanish as mail-in ballots are tallied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems are looming most acutely in Pennsylvania , which is being hotly contested by Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden .
Republican state lawmakers there have not allowed additional time to process ballots that arrive before Election Day , despite pleas from local election officials .
Pennsylvania is expected to see 3 million or more mail-in ballots - half of this year ’ s total and a ten-fold increase from 2016 .
Registered Democrats are applying at a rate of nearly 3 to 1 over Republicans .
“ The longer it takes for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the greater the risk that they ’ re going to be questioned and second-guessed , and that we ’ re going to be that national news story that we really don ’ t want to be , ” said Lisa Schaefer , executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania .
The seemingly mundane administrative task of processing ballots - verifying signatures and other voter information to ensure legitimacy , and separating them from their envelope so they are ready to be tabulated - essentially readies ballots for counting on Election Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of results .
County officials have pushed Pennsylvania Gov .
Tom Wolf and state lawmakers to set aside a larger partisan fight and let them process mail-in ballots before Election Day .
They argue that doing so will speed up vote counting amid concerns that the presidential election result will hang in limbo over a drawn-out count .
During a recent rally in Pennsylvania , Trump said the only way he will lose the state is if Democrats “ steal the election.
” “ A lot of people are worried that if it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people are going to use that to say we can ’ t trust the results , when in fact it ’ s the exact opposite , ” said Lawrence Norden , director of the Brennan Center ’ s Election Reform Program .
“ It ’ s taking so long because of all these security measures to make sure the count is as accurate as possible.
” In Michigan , another battleground this fall , the Republican-controlled legislature has approved a measure to let clerks begin some ballot processing in cities or townships with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Election Day .
Democrats had asked for at least three days of processing time and for no population-based limits .
“ That one day can really make a difference , ” said the bill sponsor , Republican Sen. Ruth Johnson , a former secretary of state .
Johnson said allotting additional days would have been difficult because the new law will require volunteer election inspectors from both major political parties to observe the removal of ballots from their outer envelopes .
“ You need to make sure that there ’ s integrity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ timing is tight .
The day before Election Day already is a busy one for local election officials scrambling to get ready for in-person voters .
Sonja Buffa , clerk for Warren , a city of roughly 135,000 people outside Detroit , has sent upwards of 30,000 absentee ballots so far with hundreds more going out every day .
“ The day before is the worst day , ” Buffa said .
“ I wish I had three days so we could spread it out and not be so stressed.
” Democrats in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in federal court to allow for absentee ballots to be tabulated before Election Day .
They argued that the law , which had not been an issue before the pandemic when absentee voting was about 6 % of all ballots cast , made it difficult for clerks to address problems with the ballots .
But the judge was unmoved , noting in a September ruling that state law already allows for errors made on the outside of absentee ballots to be corrected before Election Day .
It is on the outside of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signature , address and date , the source of most of the errors seen in absentee ballots .
The judge also said that extending the deadline for counting absentee ballots by six days — a ruling Republicans vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court - sufficiently addresses the concern about not being able to count absentee ballots before Election Day .
Andrew Hitt , chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party , said “ the earlier you start counting and the wider the time frame before you normally do it can introduce some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In a normal election , when about 5 % of Georgia voters cast absentee ballots , scanning and tabulating them on Election Day isn ’ t a problem , said Gabriel Sterling , voting system implementation manager for the secretary of state ’ s office .
But with fears about potential coronavirus exposure , nearly 1.2 million people voted absentee in the primary , about 50 % of the total turnout .
With such a dramatic increase , county election officials would be overwhelmed if they had to wait until Election Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The state election board implemented a rule before the June primary to allow county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots eight days before Election Day , as long as they aren ’ t actually tabulated until Nov. 3 .
Anticipating an even greater flood of absentee ballots this fall , the board extended that to 15 days .
“ If we had not done this , the system would have broken down , ” Sterling said .
“ I do genuinely feel bad for those states where there ’ s a hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lindenhurst , New York .
Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison , Wis. ; Kate Brumback in Atlanta ; David Eggert in Lansing , Mich. ; and Marc Levy in Harrisburg , Pa. , contributed to this report .
The Associated Press produced this coverage with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York .

Voters awaiting results in some of the key presidential battleground states on election night should be prepared to keep waiting, thanks to obstacles that will slow the count for what is expected to be a crush of mailed-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Many states allow local officials to start processing those ballots weeks before Election Day or even as they arrive. But in some of the most crucial states on the electoral map, rules prevent or give clerks little time to begin sorting ballots and verifying signatures before the election.
That’s priming a scenario in which results may come in days - or even weeks - later.
In an election cycle that has seen President Donald Trump baselessly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail voting, many fear that any delay in results could give the president more room to continue his attacks.
Democrats are requesting mail-in ballots at higher rates than Republicans in many states, giving rise to the notion that Trump could enjoy election night leads - a so-called “red mirage” - only to see that edge slowly vanish as mail-in ballots are tallied over the days that follow.
Potential problems are looming most acutely in Pennsylvania, which is being hotly contested by Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Republican state lawmakers there have not allowed additional time to process ballots that arrive before Election Day, despite pleas from local election officials.
Pennsylvania is expected to see 3 million or more mail-in ballots - half of this year’s total and a ten-fold increase from 2016. Registered Democrats are applying at a rate of nearly 3 to 1 over Republicans.
“The longer it takes for the election results to be known, the greater the risk that they’re going to be questioned and second-guessed, and that we’re going to be that national news story that we really don’t want to be,” said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
The seemingly mundane administrative task of processing ballots - verifying signatures and other voter information to ensure legitimacy, and separating them from their envelope so they are ready to be tabulated - essentially readies ballots for counting on Election Day. That helps speed up the release of results.
County officials have pushed Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers to set aside a larger partisan fight and let them process mail-in ballots before Election Day. They argue that doing so will speed up vote counting amid concerns that the presidential election result will hang in limbo over a drawn-out count.
During a recent rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said the only way he will lose the state is if Democrats “steal the election.”
“A lot of people are worried that if it takes a long time to count, people are going to use that to say we can’t trust the results, when in fact it’s the exact opposite,” said Lawrence Norden, director of the Brennan Center’s Election Reform Program. “It’s taking so long because of all these security measures to make sure the count is as accurate as possible.”
In Michigan, another battleground this fall, the Republican-controlled legislature has approved a measure to let clerks begin some ballot processing in cities or townships with at least 25,000 people the day before Election Day. Democrats had asked for at least three days of processing time and for no population-based limits.
“That one day can really make a difference,” said the bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Ruth Johnson, a former secretary of state.
Johnson said allotting additional days would have been difficult because the new law will require volunteer election inspectors from both major political parties to observe the removal of ballots from their outer envelopes.
“You need to make sure that there’s integrity,” she said.
Still, the timing is tight. The day before Election Day already is a busy one for local election officials scrambling to get ready for in-person voters. Sonja Buffa, clerk for Warren, a city of roughly 135,000 people outside Detroit, has sent upwards of 30,000 absentee ballots so far with hundreds more going out every day.
“The day before is the worst day,” Buffa said. “I wish I had three days so we could spread it out and not be so stressed.”
Democrats in Wisconsin, another closely-watched state, sued in federal court to allow for absentee ballots to be tabulated before Election Day. They argued that the law, which had not been an issue before the pandemic when absentee voting was about 6% of all ballots cast, made it difficult for clerks to address problems with the ballots.
But the judge was unmoved, noting in a September ruling that state law already allows for errors made on the outside of absentee ballots to be corrected before Election Day. It is on the outside of the ballot that voters must have a witness signature, address and date, the source of most of the errors seen in absentee ballots.
The judge also said that extending the deadline for counting absentee ballots by six days — a ruling Republicans vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court - sufficiently addresses the concern about not being able to count absentee ballots before Election Day.
Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said “the earlier you start counting and the wider the time frame before you normally do it can introduce some risk into the processes and election integrity.”
In a normal election, when about 5% of Georgia voters cast absentee ballots, scanning and tabulating them on Election Day isn’t a problem, said Gabriel Sterling, voting system implementation manager for the secretary of state’s office.
But with fears about potential coronavirus exposure, nearly 1.2 million people voted absentee in the primary, about 50% of the total turnout. With such a dramatic increase, county election officials would be overwhelmed if they had to wait until Election Day to process ballots, Sterling said.
The state election board implemented a rule before the June primary to allow county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots eight days before Election Day, as long as they aren’t actually tabulated until Nov. 3. Anticipating an even greater flood of absentee ballots this fall, the board extended that to 15 days.
“If we had not done this, the system would have broken down,” Sterling said. “I do genuinely feel bad for those states where there’s a hard law against it.”
___
Izaguirre reported from Lindenhurst, New York. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis.; Kate Brumback in Atlanta; David Eggert in Lansing, Mich.; and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press produced this coverage with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Man who lost cabin in May flood looking for the pieces

SANFORD , Mich. ( AP ) - A mid-Michigan man who lost his cabin to devastating spring flooding is appealing to the public to let him know if they ’ ve spotted any pieces of the building in flood debris .
Michael Marker of Sanford said the cabin was a special place , especially because it was one of the last things he built with his father .
He told TV station WNEM that it was washed away when the Edenville and Sanford dams failed in Midland County in May .
“ I found some steel from the roof .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ there , and the kit plate from the refrigerator .
But I will try to find some more , ” Marker said .
Marker ’ s home was damaged in the flood but looks much better now following repairs .
But he said he ’ s hoping his cabin could be intact somewhere .
“ It ’ s probably tangled in the woods where I can ’ t get it out anyway .
But just to know where it landed would be part of the whole story .
This whole summer has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .

SANFORD, Mich. (AP) - A mid-Michigan man who lost his cabin to devastating spring flooding is appealing to the public to let him know if they’ve spotted any pieces of the building in flood debris.
Michael Marker of Sanford said the cabin was a special place, especially because it was one of the last things he built with his father. He told TV station WNEM that it was washed away when the Edenville and Sanford dams failed in Midland County in May.
“I found some steel from the roof. I found the couch that was in there, and the kit plate from the refrigerator. But I will try to find some more,” Marker said.
Marker’s home was damaged in the flood but looks much better now following repairs. But he said he’s hoping his cabin could be intact somewhere.
“It’s probably tangled in the woods where I can’t get it out anyway. But just to know where it landed would be part of the whole story. This whole summer has been kind of an adventure,” Marker said.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Colorado substitute teacher shortage worsened by coronavirus

DENVER ( AP ) - Alamosa School District is so short on educators that all it might take is the quarantine of a single class to leave many kids without a teacher .
That ’ s largely because the southern Colorado district of 2,178 students is battling a significant K-12 substitute teacher shortage .
Coronavirus fears have chased a large percentage of the sub pool away , Interim Superintendent Marsha Cody said .
“ We actually need more subs than ever before , when we have less , ” Cody said .
It ’ s a problem other Colorado districts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a substitute teacher shortage that also reflects a burgeoning teacher shortage .
The pandemic is only making it worse .
In Denver Public Schools , the largest district in Colorado , a little more than half of the teachers active in the substitute pool said they were willing to take in-person assignments this fall .
Now , districts are scrambling to figure out how to cover teacher absences and where to find more subs .
And they ’ re being forced to get creative .
In one district , parents are raising their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shortage .
Other districts , including Alamosa , are looking within , at their own teacher and paraprofessional workforce , offering a financial incentive to those staff members who step up and fill in when needed .
And in some districts , administrators who still hold a teaching license are adding the role of substitute to their many responsibilities .
The state ’ s substitute teacher shortage isn ’ t far off from a crisis , said Kallie Leyba , president of both the American Federation of Teachers Colorado and the Douglas County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there yet , but I think it ’ s right around the corner , ” Leyba said .
It ’ s not clear exactly how many subs Colorado ’ s 178 school districts need this school year .
The Colorado Department of Education does not collect any substitute placement information , spokesman Jeremy Meyer said .
All subs are locally hired and assigned by districts , Boards of Cooperative Educational Services and charter schools .
But the shortage of subs has been an issue for several years in Colorado .
Leyba last taught @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shortage impacting classrooms then .
It ’ s growing this fall as the pandemic sidelines many older substitutes .
“ A good portion of our substitute teachers are retired teachers , and so they are also the people who are at a higher risk for complications from COVID just because of their age , ” Leyba said .
“ So many of them are not able to take that risk by going into a school building with a bunch of kids and exposing themselves.
” The risk is only enhanced by substitutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cohorting system .
Many Colorado schools are using cohorting this fall to contain groups of students : Smaller groups of students stick together and avoid interacting with other groups to lessen the chances of exposure .
Because their jobs require them to move from classroom to classroom , substitutes are “ breaking those cohorts just left and right , ” Leyba said .
Other factors are compounding the substitute shortage , creating a complicated scenario in which districts have an increased need for subs at the same time they ’ re up against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One of those factors : new requirements that teachers take sick days for symptoms that in the past wouldn ’ t demand that they stay home .
For example , if a teacher has a cold or bad allergies , they must err on the side of caution and avoid coming to school this year , just in case they have the coronavirus .
They can ’ t return to the classroom until they ’ ve taken a COVID-19 test and received a negative result .
Additionally , under guidelines from the Colorado @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teachers who were exposed to the virus in their school or community must take time off to quarantine , even if they ’ re technically healthy , Leyba said .
The union president worries that some Colorado schools will have to close to in-person learning when teacher positions can ’ t be covered by substitutes .
“ I think we ’ ll hit the tipping point where we can ’ t stay open , ” she said .
Alamosa ’ s substitute teacher shortage isn ’ t a new problem , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The sub pool has been sliced in half to 25 , Cody said .
Before the pandemic , the shortage of subs was influenced , in part , by the low pay .
The Alamosa district pays subs who are retired teachers $ 110 per day .
Subs who have a bachelor ’ s degree and are licensed teachers or have a substitute teaching license receive $ 100 per day , and subs who have a high school diploma and their substitute teaching license are paid $ 90 per day .
The time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substitute teaching license is also a barrier , Cody said .
Similar deterrents contributed to Denver Public Schools having vacancies in its classrooms before the pandemic .
Working as a substitute teacher is a tough job , said Katie Clymer , executive director of talent for the district .
It ’ s especially challenging , she said , for a sub to come into a classroom and build community with students they don ’ t know .
As DPS , with about 92,000 students and 160 district-run schools , transitioned to remote learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic , the district removed about 450 inactive subs from its roster .
That left about 750 substitutes , Clymer said .
From that pool , about 400 are willing to work in person this fall , according to a survey conducted over the summer .
The most successful schools bring their subs - DPS calls them “ guest teachers ” - into their community and essentially treat them like any teacher .
DPS allows individual schools to hire and retain additional staff who are used as guest teachers , which a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same building helps provide job stability for subs and , because they ’ re familiar and readily available , creates the opportunity to earn more .
Guest subs can even qualify for health insurance through the district if they work at least 20 hours a week .
DPS guest teachers who are new to the district earn $ 118 per day .
The pay increases to $ 150 per day after 50 days .
Retired teachers earn $ 128 per day , which rises to $ 164 per day after working 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building up a full force of DPS guest teachers .
Some subs want to work near their homes or in schools where they previously taught .
Some are willing to teach only specific grade levels , Clymer said .
DPS also often needs guest teachers who can teach in Spanish for English language learners .
Even with subs available , it ’ s not as simple as placing any guest teacher into any school .
Because of health guardrails provided by Denver Public Health and guidelines the district has adopted around cohorting and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a group , guest teachers will only be allowed to work at one school , Clymer said .
Schools are going to have to be thoughtful about how they use each guest teacher so that they can still adhere to all the cohorting guidelines .
Additional guidelines allow only four adults to be assigned to a cohort of students at any given time .
DPS is recommending that schools include a guest teacher as one of those four people , Clymer said .
The district has assigned at least one guest teacher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some schools , she said , and it continues to hire more guest teachers .
As the pool increases , DPS is prioritizing placing them in early childhood education schools since they opened to students first .
Elementary schools are another focus since they ’ re also opening to kids sooner , followed by attention to larger schools where higher numbers of staff could potentially be out for absences related to being quarantined , or not related to COVID-19 at all .
Before the pandemic , DPS was typically able to fill about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subs on any given day .
The district doesn ’ t have a firm target number of guest teacher positions it ’ s now looking to fill , Clymer said .
“ We could easily take another 300-400 … if not even more.
” In Alamosa , where retired teachers overwhelmingly decided not to return to the substitute corps this year , the district will pay teachers an additional $ 25 to forgo their planning period and sub in a classroom where needed , said Cody , the interim superintendent .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , as teachers rely on that time to plan their own lessons .
This fall , the district also introduced a stipend for experienced paraprofessionals willing to step in as subs .
Alamosa will pay any paraprofessional who has been hired in the district and worked for 90 days $ 100 to cover the cost of getting a substitute license .
It ’ s another way to tackle the severe sub shortage , Cody said , but it ’ s also not a perfect approach as the district would like to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including students learning English or those needing extra help .
There are “ no great answers right now , ” Cody said .
To try to help subs willing to teach this fall feel ready for classes , Alamosa offered a paid half-day training for subs to brief them on how to navigate the technology the district is using and on all the health precautions the district ’ s schools have in place , including one-way hallways , masks and cohorting .
Cody is particularly worried about the ripple effect of quarantining a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as those teaching music , art or computer science , attached to it .
All of those teachers would need to quarantine , too .
“ That can create a big shortage very , very quickly , ” Cody said .
She added that if multiple cohorts were to shut down , the district would need many subs immediately .
Alamosa has already had to quarantine cohorts twice this year .
During the first quarantine , which happened during the first week of school , part of a cohort had to quarantine .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at that time , Cody said , and the district had enough subs to cover while some teachers also taught through Zoom .
During the second quarantine , one cohort had to be shut down and the district didn ’ t have enough subs to cover .
The cohort was released from quarantine after two-and-a-half school days , she said , but during that time staff members came forward to help .
Some elective teachers who were quarantined connected to classrooms for instruction over Zoom .
Those few days of quarantine brought the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ view .
Other districts have taken a similar approach to making do without enough subs .
Gunnison Watershed School District RE1J lost some of its subs this year because of COVID-19 , said Lisa Danos , co-president of Gunnison County Education Association .
To help prevent a district shortage , many parents who would normally never sub have stepped up .
The parents want to make sure that students ’ education isn ’ t interrupted because of the virus , Danos said .
With the potential of needing many more subs this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could face a shortage , she said .
The district has advertised for subs more this year than it normally does and may give a small pay increase to attract and retain them .
Liz Mick , co-president of the union , said the district has also streamlined the application process to make it simpler for people who might be interested in subbing .
When the pandemic hit last spring , Gunnison provided a bonus to its regular subs as a way to show appreciation for the work of teachers who suddenly lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a kind gesture of our district ” for subs , who are “ terribly underpaid.
” Douglas County School District is also boosting pay for subs through December , and high-level administrators who still hold an active teaching license have volunteered to fill subbing gaps if needed , said Leyba , of AFT Colorado and the Douglas County Federation .
It ’ s essentially an “ all-hands-on-deck situation where everyone knows that they may need to step into the classroom and we have to put the needs of the classroom first above everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
The Colorado Department of Education also is working to bring more subs into the system by developing a substitute recruitment page that gives instructions on how to apply for a substitute credential and links to districts that are looking , department spokesperson Meyer said .
Additionally , CDE is collaborating with the state ’ s educator preparation programs to spread the message that in some cases , student teachers can serve as substitutes .
Not all retirees who have subbed in Colorado have opted out of teaching in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a retired DPS teacher who taught for the district for 35 years , has been subbing for about 10 years , covering classes in five schools including Thomas Jefferson High School , where she taught design and sculpture for most of her career .
She hasn ’ t been back to a DPS classroom since March 13 , when the pandemic changed the district ’ s plans .
But she plans to return to the classroom in mid-October , when all students are scheduled to be back to in-person learning , if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think the kids need to be there , ” Salazar said .
“ The kids need to be with their teachers , their school , their friends.
” She ’ s remained cautious throughout the pandemic , consistently wearing a mask and washing her hands repetitively , and she isn ’ t worried about stepping inside a school .
Salazar said she has found a sense of belonging with kids and teachers who know her as a familiar face .
“ You feel like you ’ re part of the faculty , kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same school all the time , ” she said .
Dennis McCormick shares Salazar ’ s enthusiasm to return to students .
McCormick , who is retired after working in energy , is heading into his seventh year as a substitute teacher for DPS .
Many members of McCormick ’ s family taught school , including his mother , father and two sisters along with some of his aunts , uncles and nieces .
That family background , along with McCormick ’ s own interest in education , compelled him to begin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70 or 80 DPS schools .
Like Salazar , McCormick subbed up until the pandemic shutdown .
He ’ s not hesitant about being back in a classroom this year .
“ Perhaps , ” he joked , “ I haven ’ t thought it through enough .
”

DENVER (AP) - Alamosa School District is so short on educators that all it might take is the quarantine of a single class to leave many kids without a teacher.
That’s largely because the southern Colorado district of 2,178 students is battling a significant K-12 substitute teacher shortage. Coronavirus fears have chased a large percentage of the sub pool away, Interim Superintendent Marsha Cody said.
“We actually need more subs than ever before, when we have less,” Cody said.
It’s a problem other Colorado districts can sympathize with as the state faces a substitute teacher shortage that also reflects a burgeoning teacher shortage. The pandemic is only making it worse. In Denver Public Schools, the largest district in Colorado, a little more than half of the teachers active in the substitute pool said they were willing to take in-person assignments this fall.
Now, districts are scrambling to figure out how to cover teacher absences and where to find more subs. And they’re being forced to get creative.
In one district, parents are raising their hands to sub to help prevent a shortage. Other districts, including Alamosa, are looking within, at their own teacher and paraprofessional workforce, offering a financial incentive to those staff members who step up and fill in when needed. And in some districts, administrators who still hold a teaching license are adding the role of substitute to their many responsibilities.
The state’s substitute teacher shortage isn’t far off from a crisis, said Kallie Leyba, president of both the American Federation of Teachers Colorado and the Douglas County Federation.
“We’re not there yet, but I think it’s right around the corner,” Leyba said.
It’s not clear exactly how many subs Colorado’s 178 school districts need this school year. The Colorado Department of Education does not collect any substitute placement information, spokesman Jeremy Meyer said. All subs are locally hired and assigned by districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services and charter schools.
But the shortage of subs has been an issue for several years in Colorado. Leyba last taught during the 2012-13 school year and recalls the shortage impacting classrooms then.
It’s growing this fall as the pandemic sidelines many older substitutes.
“A good portion of our substitute teachers are retired teachers, and so they are also the people who are at a higher risk for complications from COVID just because of their age,” Leyba said. “So many of them are not able to take that risk by going into a school building with a bunch of kids and exposing themselves.”
The risk is only enhanced by substitutes not operating within a school’s cohorting system. Many Colorado schools are using cohorting this fall to contain groups of students: Smaller groups of students stick together and avoid interacting with other groups to lessen the chances of exposure.
Because their jobs require them to move from classroom to classroom, substitutes are “breaking those cohorts just left and right,” Leyba said.
Other factors are compounding the substitute shortage, creating a complicated scenario in which districts have an increased need for subs at the same time they’re up against a decreased supply, she said. One of those factors: new requirements that teachers take sick days for symptoms that in the past wouldn’t demand that they stay home.
For example, if a teacher has a cold or bad allergies, they must err on the side of caution and avoid coming to school this year, just in case they have the coronavirus. They can’t return to the classroom until they’ve taken a COVID-19 test and received a negative result.
Additionally, under guidelines from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, teachers who were exposed to the virus in their school or community must take time off to quarantine, even if they’re technically healthy, Leyba said.
The union president worries that some Colorado schools will have to close to in-person learning when teacher positions can’t be covered by substitutes.
“I think we’ll hit the tipping point where we can’t stay open,” she said.
- “All hands on deck”
Alamosa’s substitute teacher shortage isn’t a new problem, but the numbers this year are particularly troublesome. The sub pool has been sliced in half to 25, Cody said.
Before the pandemic, the shortage of subs was influenced, in part, by the low pay. The Alamosa district pays subs who are retired teachers $110 per day. Subs who have a bachelor’s degree and are licensed teachers or have a substitute teaching license receive $100 per day, and subs who have a high school diploma and their substitute teaching license are paid $90 per day.
The time and effort it takes to get a substitute teaching license is also a barrier, Cody said.
Similar deterrents contributed to Denver Public Schools having vacancies in its classrooms before the pandemic. Working as a substitute teacher is a tough job, said Katie Clymer, executive director of talent for the district. It’s especially challenging, she said, for a sub to come into a classroom and build community with students they don’t know.
As DPS, with about 92,000 students and 160 district-run schools, transitioned to remote learning in the spring as a result of the pandemic, the district removed about 450 inactive subs from its roster. That left about 750 substitutes, Clymer said. From that pool, about 400 are willing to work in person this fall, according to a survey conducted over the summer.
The most successful schools bring their subs - DPS calls them “guest teachers” - into their community and essentially treat them like any teacher. DPS allows individual schools to hire and retain additional staff who are used as guest teachers, which a few have done. Working consistently in the same building helps provide job stability for subs and, because they’re familiar and readily available, creates the opportunity to earn more. Guest subs can even qualify for health insurance through the district if they work at least 20 hours a week.
DPS guest teachers who are new to the district earn $118 per day. The pay increases to $150 per day after 50 days. Retired teachers earn $128 per day, which rises to $164 per day after working 50 days.
There are other hurdles to building up a full force of DPS guest teachers. Some subs want to work near their homes or in schools where they previously taught. Some are willing to teach only specific grade levels, Clymer said. DPS also often needs guest teachers who can teach in Spanish for English language learners.
Even with subs available, it’s not as simple as placing any guest teacher into any school.
Because of health guardrails provided by Denver Public Health and guidelines the district has adopted around cohorting and the number of adults who can interact with a group, guest teachers will only be allowed to work at one school, Clymer said. Schools are going to have to be thoughtful about how they use each guest teacher so that they can still adhere to all the cohorting guidelines.
Additional guidelines allow only four adults to be assigned to a cohort of students at any given time. DPS is recommending that schools include a guest teacher as one of those four people, Clymer said.
The district has assigned at least one guest teacher to every school, and two to some schools, she said, and it continues to hire more guest teachers. As the pool increases, DPS is prioritizing placing them in early childhood education schools since they opened to students first. Elementary schools are another focus since they’re also opening to kids sooner, followed by attention to larger schools where higher numbers of staff could potentially be out for absences related to being quarantined, or not related to COVID-19 at all.
Before the pandemic, DPS was typically able to fill about 90% of the classrooms that needed subs on any given day. The district doesn’t have a firm target number of guest teacher positions it’s now looking to fill, Clymer said. “We could easily take another 300-400 … if not even more.”
In Alamosa, where retired teachers overwhelmingly decided not to return to the substitute corps this year, the district will pay teachers an additional $25 to forgo their planning period and sub in a classroom where needed, said Cody, the interim superintendent.
It’s not an ideal solution, she said, as teachers rely on that time to plan their own lessons.
This fall, the district also introduced a stipend for experienced paraprofessionals willing to step in as subs. Alamosa will pay any paraprofessional who has been hired in the district and worked for 90 days $100 to cover the cost of getting a substitute license.
It’s another way to tackle the severe sub shortage, Cody said, but it’s also not a perfect approach as the district would like to see them supporting students in their cohort, including students learning English or those needing extra help.
There are “no great answers right now,” Cody said.
To try to help subs willing to teach this fall feel ready for classes, Alamosa offered a paid half-day training for subs to brief them on how to navigate the technology the district is using and on all the health precautions the district’s schools have in place, including one-way hallways, masks and cohorting.
Cody is particularly worried about the ripple effect of quarantining a class that has elective teachers, such as those teaching music, art or computer science, attached to it. All of those teachers would need to quarantine, too.
“That can create a big shortage very, very quickly,” Cody said. She added that if multiple cohorts were to shut down, the district would need many subs immediately.
Alamosa has already had to quarantine cohorts twice this year. During the first quarantine, which happened during the first week of school, part of a cohort had to quarantine. Luckily, many students were learning remotely at that time, Cody said, and the district had enough subs to cover while some teachers also taught through Zoom. During the second quarantine, one cohort had to be shut down and the district didn’t have enough subs to cover. The cohort was released from quarantine after two-and-a-half school days, she said, but during that time staff members came forward to help. Some elective teachers who were quarantined connected to classrooms for instruction over Zoom. Those few days of quarantine brought the district’s substitute shortage into full view.
Other districts have taken a similar approach to making do without enough subs. Gunnison Watershed School District RE1J lost some of its subs this year because of COVID-19, said Lisa Danos, co-president of Gunnison County Education Association. To help prevent a district shortage, many parents who would normally never sub have stepped up.
The parents want to make sure that students’ education isn’t interrupted because of the virus, Danos said.
With the potential of needing many more subs this year than in the past, the district could face a shortage, she said. The district has advertised for subs more this year than it normally does and may give a small pay increase to attract and retain them.
Liz Mick, co-president of the union, said the district has also streamlined the application process to make it simpler for people who might be interested in subbing.
When the pandemic hit last spring, Gunnison provided a bonus to its regular subs as a way to show appreciation for the work of teachers who suddenly lost income. Mick described it as “a kind gesture of our district” for subs, who are “terribly underpaid.”
Douglas County School District is also boosting pay for subs through December, and high-level administrators who still hold an active teaching license have volunteered to fill subbing gaps if needed, said Leyba, of AFT Colorado and the Douglas County Federation.
It’s essentially an “all-hands-on-deck situation where everyone knows that they may need to step into the classroom and we have to put the needs of the classroom first above everything else in the district right now,” she said.
- Ready to return
The Colorado Department of Education also is working to bring more subs into the system by developing a substitute recruitment page that gives instructions on how to apply for a substitute credential and links to districts that are looking, department spokesperson Meyer said. Additionally, CDE is collaborating with the state’s educator preparation programs to spread the message that in some cases, student teachers can serve as substitutes.
Not all retirees who have subbed in Colorado have opted out of teaching in the classroom this year. Catherine Salazar, a retired DPS teacher who taught for the district for 35 years, has been subbing for about 10 years, covering classes in five schools including Thomas Jefferson High School, where she taught design and sculpture for most of her career.
She hasn’t been back to a DPS classroom since March 13, when the pandemic changed the district’s plans. But she plans to return to the classroom in mid-October, when all students are scheduled to be back to in-person learning, if she’s needed.
“I just think the kids need to be there,” Salazar said. “The kids need to be with their teachers, their school, their friends.”
She’s remained cautious throughout the pandemic, consistently wearing a mask and washing her hands repetitively, and she isn’t worried about stepping inside a school. Salazar said she has found a sense of belonging with kids and teachers who know her as a familiar face.
“You feel like you’re part of the faculty, kind of, when you’re at the same school all the time,” she said.
Dennis McCormick shares Salazar’s enthusiasm to return to students. McCormick, who is retired after working in energy, is heading into his seventh year as a substitute teacher for DPS. Many members of McCormick’s family taught school, including his mother, father and two sisters along with some of his aunts, uncles and nieces.
That family background, along with McCormick’s own interest in education, compelled him to begin subbing. He’s taught at 70 or 80 DPS schools.
Like Salazar, McCormick subbed up until the pandemic shutdown. He’s not hesitant about being back in a classroom this year.
“Perhaps,” he joked, “I haven’t thought it through enough.”


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Insider Q&A: Healthcare Ready director on disaster response

When natural disasters strike , quickly getting the right aid to people is difficult at best .
Doing so amid the worst pandemic in a century increases that challenge dramatically .
For thousands of Americans displaced this year by hurricanes , floods and wildfires - plus those trying to avoid COVID-19 - getting their drugs and medical supplies has been critical .
Healthcare Ready , a tiny disaster preparedness and response group , serves as a crucial hub for coordinating donations and shipments of medicines , protective gear and other supplies to those in need .
The Associated Press recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louissaint .
Q : What led to your group ’ s formation in 2005 ?
A : After Hurricane Katrina , there was a lot of frustration .
Pharmaceutical companies knew they could do more to help but didn ’ t know how to get their medicines into shelters , because they didn ’ t have relationships with law enforcement , public health agencies or the Red Cross .
They decided , let ’ s do this as a coalition .
Q : How do you prepare for disasters ?
A : We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contacts every year , touching every state ’ s emergency management and health organizations .
We work with national groups with a local presence in many communities , like churches and the NAACP .
We do preparedness projects to identify populations that would have the greatest medical needs after a disaster .
Q : How has your work evolved since Hurricanes Harvey , Irma and Maria hit in 2017 ?
A : The landscape has only gotten more and more difficult .
It ’ s the intensity of the events and the frequency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide support for multiple intensive events is the hardest challenge , and that ’ s what COVID has been testing for us .
Q : During the pandemic , medicines largely remained available .
What ’ s been your focus ?
A : We continue to work closely with the manufacturers and distributors of personal protective equipment , to have a single clearinghouse for our emergency management agency partners .
We worked with the National Governors Association to vet and create a list of credible suppliers of those products .
We worked with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identify products needed and then distribute their donations to community groups , nursing homes and clinics .
We do a lot of info sharing .
We set up our “ RX Open ” map so people could see where pharmacies were open before leaving home amid stay-at-home orders .
Q : Are you helping with the wildfires ?
A : We ’ re working with pharma and the Red Cross , making sure everyone isn ’ t sending the same thing .
We ’ re working with pharmacies to be sure they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some partners prepared to provide donations for individuals who ’ ve lost their homes .
A : We receive contributions from the associations for drug manufacturers , distributors , chain pharmacies and other companies , plus other grants and donations .

When natural disasters strike, quickly getting the right aid to people is difficult at best. Doing so amid the worst pandemic in a century increases that challenge dramatically.
For thousands of Americans displaced this year by hurricanes, floods and wildfires - plus those trying to avoid COVID-19 - getting their drugs and medical supplies has been critical.
Healthcare Ready, a tiny disaster preparedness and response group, serves as a crucial hub for coordinating donations and shipments of medicines, protective gear and other supplies to those in need.
The Associated Press recently talked with its executive director, Nicolette Louissaint.
Q: What led to your group’s formation in 2005?
A: After Hurricane Katrina, there was a lot of frustration. Pharmaceutical companies knew they could do more to help but didn’t know how to get their medicines into shelters, because they didn’t have relationships with law enforcement, public health agencies or the Red Cross. They decided, let’s do this as a coalition.
Q: How do you prepare for disasters?
A: We make sure we’re refreshing our contacts every year, touching every state’s emergency management and health organizations. We work with national groups with a local presence in many communities, like churches and the NAACP. We do preparedness projects to identify populations that would have the greatest medical needs after a disaster.
Q: How has your work evolved since Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria hit in 2017?
A: The landscape has only gotten more and more difficult. It’s the intensity of the events and the frequency. Being poised to jump in and provide support for multiple intensive events is the hardest challenge, and that’s what COVID has been testing for us.
Q: During the pandemic, medicines largely remained available. What’s been your focus?
A: We continue to work closely with the manufacturers and distributors of personal protective equipment, to have a single clearinghouse for our emergency management agency partners. We worked with the National Governors Association to vet and create a list of credible suppliers of those products. We worked with Project Hope and the Business Roundtable to identify products needed and then distribute their donations to community groups, nursing homes and clinics.
We do a lot of info sharing. We set up our “RX Open” map so people could see where pharmacies were open before leaving home amid stay-at-home orders.
Q: Are you helping with the wildfires?
A: We’re working with pharma and the Red Cross, making sure everyone isn’t sending the same thing. We’re working with pharmacies to be sure they have the medicines they need. We have some partners prepared to provide donations for individuals who’ve lost their homes.
Q: How is Healthcare Ready funded?
A: We receive contributions from the associations for drug manufacturers, distributors, chain pharmacies and other companies, plus other grants and donations.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Oregon Department of Corrections weighs cutting college ties

PORTLAND , Ore. ( AP ) - The Oregon Department of Corrections is weighing ending its connections to community colleges across the state and proposing to move its education program in-house because of a budget shortfall .
The DOC currently contracts with six community colleges in Oregon to provide high school diploma equivalency testing , or GED services , to inmates across its 14 facilities .
Department of Corrections communications manager Jennifer Black told Oregon Public Broadcasting that DOC is proposing the contracts be phased out and the agency hire back those positions as part of the DOC permanent budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inmates were enrolled in the Adult Basic Skill Development program as of Sept. 30 .
“ During the COVID-19 pandemic , contractors were unable to enter the institutions and ABS ( Adult Basic Skills ) programming could not be adapted and continued during operation modifications , ” she said .
“ Converting contractor funding to DOC staff positions will allow the department to continue ABS programming during other disasters or operational restrictions.
” DOC director Colette Peters sent a letter about the situation this week to Cam Preus , executive director of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already experiencing a projected budget shortfall of $ 110 million before the pandemic , Peters wrote , which has resulted in $ 25 million in layoffs and other cost-cutting measures .
Peters said that DOC staff met with Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario to discuss the idea of the six colleges working together to create a proposal standardizing services .
“ Treasure Valley was clear that such a proposal would not be forthcoming , ” Peters wrote .
“ It was stated unequivocally during those meetings that the colleges are independent institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not result in a unified proposal.
” DOC has now presented the community college association with requirements in order to continue the relationship .
Those requirements include standardizing education programming hours across institutions , offering programming year-round and uniformly structuring and allocating compensation as a percentage of an institution ’ s capacity .
Preus said Friday that the six community colleges currently working with DOC are working to respond to Peters ’ letter .
The Oregon Education Association , the statewide teachers ’ union , is asking the DOC to reconsider the potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Department of Corrections is weighing ending its connections to community colleges across the state and proposing to move its education program in-house because of a budget shortfall.
The DOC currently contracts with six community colleges in Oregon to provide high school diploma equivalency testing, or GED services, to inmates across its 14 facilities.
Department of Corrections communications manager Jennifer Black told Oregon Public Broadcasting that DOC is proposing the contracts be phased out and the agency hire back those positions as part of the DOC permanent budget going forward.
She said nearly 1,000 inmates were enrolled in the Adult Basic Skill Development program as of Sept. 30.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, contractors were unable to enter the institutions and ABS (Adult Basic Skills) programming could not be adapted and continued during operation modifications,” she said. “Converting contractor funding to DOC staff positions will allow the department to continue ABS programming during other disasters or operational restrictions.”
DOC director Colette Peters sent a letter about the situation this week to Cam Preus, executive director of the Oregon Community College Association.
ODOC was already experiencing a projected budget shortfall of $110 million before the pandemic, Peters wrote, which has resulted in $25 million in layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
Peters said that DOC staff met with Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario to discuss the idea of the six colleges working together to create a proposal standardizing services.
“Treasure Valley was clear that such a proposal would not be forthcoming,” Peters wrote. “It was stated unequivocally during those meetings that the colleges are independent institutions and that the dynamics between colleges would not result in a unified proposal.”
DOC has now presented the community college association with requirements in order to continue the relationship. Those requirements include standardizing education programming hours across institutions, offering programming year-round and uniformly structuring and allocating compensation as a percentage of an institution’s capacity.
Preus said Friday that the six community colleges currently working with DOC are working to respond to Peters’ letter.
The Oregon Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, is asking the DOC to reconsider the potential move to an in-house education program.


washingtontimes--2020-10-04--Annual effort rescues hundreds of fish from Wyoming intake

JACKSON , Wyo .
( AP ) - Cutthroat trout tails and heads boiled with the surface of Spread Creek ’ s diverted water , involuntary spasms resulting from electricity shooting out of Jack Bryan ’ s handheld anode .
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department fisheries technician was standing in Spread Creek ’ s water , but not the stream itself .
Instead his wader boots were planted in a concrete sediment trap right where water enters an irrigation system , bound for the cattle pasture at Elk Ranch Flats and the Pinto and Moosehead ranches .
Cutthroat - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be in this structure or any of the ephemeral ditches downstream because it ’ s a death sentence .
But until they were shocked , stunned and carried away in a 5-gallon pail on Monday , there they were : entrained in the diversion by the hundreds .
“ Holy cow , ” Trout Unlimited volunteer Roby Hurley said in the boulder-strewn sediment trap .
“ That ’ s amazing.
” Cutties were everywhere , the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported .
The writhing trapped trout enthralling the onlookers had Bryan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the electricity he got down on his hands and knees , reaching into the crevices between rocks for one trout tail after the next .
“ They just keep coming , ” Bryan said .
“ It ’ s like pulling catfish out of here.
” Trout Unlimited staffer Leslie Steen and Game and Fish fisheries biologist Diana Miller weren ’ t surprised that the high-voltage action was most active nearest the diversion .
They ’ ve been participating in the fish salvage , which has become an annual event , for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Miller said , “ a ride to freedom.
” The historic diversion system feeding out of lower Spread Creek is deadly for fish because it doesn ’ t go anywhere .
The terminus is little-known Elk Ranch Reservoir , an impounded nearly 80-year-old body of water that ’ s tucked into the base of Uhl Hill .
It ’ s shallow enough that in some years it goes completely dry .
Cutthroat and native species like mottled sculpin have likely been trapped in this man-made system since it was created , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ succumbed to the elements in unsuitable habitat .
Fisheries managers first started addressing the problem after the Spread Creek Dam came down in 2010 , reconnecting 50-plus miles of tributary to the Snake River .
An irrigator around that time approached Grand Teton National Park fisheries biologist Chad Whaley , urging him to take a look at fish that were being caught up in the system .
He did - and fish were everywhere but were especially concentrated near the headgate .
“ We pulled a few hundred fish just out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said during a break from shocking the ditch .
“ Me and my tech climbed down in there .
We ’ d pull out two or three at a time.
” “ It was kind of significant , ” he said .
Fast forward eight years , and the salvage that started with Whaley , a colleague and a couple of nets is much more organized and systematic .
Game and Fish dedicates some of its staff time to the effort , and Trout Unlimited pulls together volunteers to help out .
Recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocking and netting nearly three miles of ditch feeding from the headgate to the reservoir .
They saved 291 fish in the process : 109 measurable cutthroats , 124 young-of-the-year cutthroats , 26 longnose dace , 16 mottled and Pauite sculpins and 16 mountain suckers .
“ We try to do the best we can , ” Whaley said .
“ You can ’ t get all the fish , but hopefully we get a large percentage of the fish that ended up in the ditch and get them back into Spread Creek.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s park crew netted their first longnose dace of the day , a minnow they found taking shelter in a thicket of alders .
The 3-inch fish , cradled in the biologist ’ s hand , had black spots uncharacteristic of the species .
“ He ’ s got little parasites , ” Whaley said .
“ I ’ m not sure what species - I ’ m not a pathologist.
” Most of the fish salvaged Sept. 21 were cutthroats , the Snake River watershed ’ s only native trout .
Ranging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14.7-incher , each was shocked , netted , bucketed , logged by Steen and then released back into Spread Creek just downstream of the diversion .
The entire process proved to be an all-day affair .
But soon such an operation won ’ t be needed .
Trout Unlimited has been cobbling together funds for a permanent solution - a fish screen , which is a tried-and-true tool to prevent fish entrainment .
The device was ideally going to go in this year , but COVID-19 caused some complications .
“ The screen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ditch , ” Steen said .
“ But the fish will go across the surface of it , and into a bypass pipe that goes into Spread Creek .
It will negate the need for all of this .
”

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Cutthroat trout tails and heads boiled with the surface of Spread Creek’s diverted water, involuntary spasms resulting from electricity shooting out of Jack Bryan’s handheld anode.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department fisheries technician was standing in Spread Creek’s water, but not the stream itself. Instead his wader boots were planted in a concrete sediment trap right where water enters an irrigation system, bound for the cattle pasture at Elk Ranch Flats and the Pinto and Moosehead ranches.
Cutthroat - or any fish - ideally wouldn’t be in this structure or any of the ephemeral ditches downstream because it’s a death sentence. But until they were shocked, stunned and carried away in a 5-gallon pail on Monday, there they were: entrained in the diversion by the hundreds.
“Holy cow,” Trout Unlimited volunteer Roby Hurley said in the boulder-strewn sediment trap. “That’s amazing.”
Cutties were everywhere, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported.
The writhing trapped trout enthralling the onlookers had Bryan’s full attention. After cutting the electricity he got down on his hands and knees, reaching into the crevices between rocks for one trout tail after the next.
“They just keep coming,” Bryan said. “It’s like pulling catfish out of here.”
Trout Unlimited staffer Leslie Steen and Game and Fish fisheries biologist Diana Miller weren’t surprised that the high-voltage action was most active nearest the diversion. They’ve been participating in the fish salvage, which has become an annual event, for years.
“They all get a ride,” Miller said, “a ride to freedom.”
The historic diversion system feeding out of lower Spread Creek is deadly for fish because it doesn’t go anywhere. The terminus is little-known Elk Ranch Reservoir, an impounded nearly 80-year-old body of water that’s tucked into the base of Uhl Hill. It’s shallow enough that in some years it goes completely dry.
Cutthroat and native species like mottled sculpin have likely been trapped in this man-made system since it was created, but for decades they would have just succumbed to the elements in unsuitable habitat. Fisheries managers first started addressing the problem after the Spread Creek Dam came down in 2010, reconnecting 50-plus miles of tributary to the Snake River. An irrigator around that time approached Grand Teton National Park fisheries biologist Chad Whaley, urging him to take a look at fish that were being caught up in the system. He did - and fish were everywhere but were especially concentrated near the headgate.
“We pulled a few hundred fish just out of the (silt) boxes,” Whaley said during a break from shocking the ditch. “Me and my tech climbed down in there. We’d pull out two or three at a time.”
“It was kind of significant,” he said.
Fast forward eight years, and the salvage that started with Whaley, a colleague and a couple of nets is much more organized and systematic.
Game and Fish dedicates some of its staff time to the effort, and Trout Unlimited pulls together volunteers to help out. Recently two crews spent most of a day shocking and netting nearly three miles of ditch feeding from the headgate to the reservoir. They saved 291 fish in the process: 109 measurable cutthroats, 124 young-of-the-year cutthroats, 26 longnose dace, 16 mottled and Pauite sculpins and 16 mountain suckers.
“We try to do the best we can,” Whaley said. “You can’t get all the fish, but hopefully we get a large percentage of the fish that ended up in the ditch and get them back into Spread Creek.”
Around 1:30 p.m., Whaley’s park crew netted their first longnose dace of the day, a minnow they found taking shelter in a thicket of alders. The 3-inch fish, cradled in the biologist’s hand, had black spots uncharacteristic of the species.
“He’s got little parasites,” Whaley said. “I’m not sure what species - I’m not a pathologist.”
Most of the fish salvaged Sept. 21 were cutthroats, the Snake River watershed’s only native trout. Ranging in size from months-old fry to a 14.7-incher, each was shocked, netted, bucketed, logged by Steen and then released back into Spread Creek just downstream of the diversion. The entire process proved to be an all-day affair.
But soon such an operation won’t be needed. Trout Unlimited has been cobbling together funds for a permanent solution - a fish screen, which is a tried-and-true tool to prevent fish entrainment. The device was ideally going to go in this year, but COVID-19 caused some complications.
“The screen will let water drop down and into the ditch,” Steen said. “But the fish will go across the surface of it, and into a bypass pipe that goes into Spread Creek. It will negate the need for all of this.”