Editorial Columns

The COVID-19 virus is here. It will spread, and we need to be ready when it does. Many local individuals, businesses and agencies have stepped up to the challenges ahead.

Sadly, Shawano County missed many opportunities as they waited for a case to be confirmed here before taking on a leadership role in planning for the local impact of the pandemic.

The go-slow approach may have been intended to keep residents calm, but the effect has been a lack of sense of urgency that may mask the actual threat.

Over the past two weeks, nothing has weighed more heavily on my mind than you, Wittenberg-Birnamwood Class of 2020. I know your emotions have to be running between disappointment, sadness and confusion.

Those who know me well know that I’m a hugger by nature, and family and friends look forward to a healthy embrace from me. I learned early on that some people don’t like, need or want to be hugged, and you learn to leave them alone or simply greet them with a happy smile. I’m pretty good at reading body language, and it’s important not to violate the personal space of those who cherish it.

Another theatrical production has come and gone, and the WOWSPACE sits empty — waiting for the next event.
It’s a lot of work to put a show together — learning the lines, blocking the scenes, finding the right costumes and props. The fact that it’s all done by volunteers, who have lives of their own to run, makes it all the more special when it all comes together.