The Coshocton County Beacon April 1, 2020 | Page 2

2 • The Beacon April 1, 2020 First Step limits onsite services 226 Main Street Coshocton, Ohio 43812 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM NEWS/EDITORIAL DEADLINE THURSDAY AT NOON PROOF/AUCTION AD DEADLINE THURSDAY AT NOON DISPLAY AD DEADLINE FRIDAY AT NOON Call 220-201-9679 CLASSIFIED AD DEADLINE FRIDAY AT 11 AM Call 740-622-4237 All deadlines subject to change for holidays. PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT THE COSHOCTON COUNTY BEACON is published weekly by AloNovus Corp., 226 Main Street, Coshocton, OH 43812. All rights reserved by AloNovus Corp. AloNovus Corp. does not necessarily support the opinion of writers. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Pricing Permit No. 25408 at Coshocton, OH, 43812. Postmaster, send address changes to The Coshocton County Beacon, 226 Main Street, Coshocton, OH 43812. Address changes may be sent via email to addresschange@ coshoctoncountybeacon.com. To request free in-county delivery of The Coshocton County Beacon, visit our office at 226 Main Street in Towne Centre, Coshocton to fill out a requestor card. You can also request free in-county delivery of The Beacon online at www.iwantmybeacon.com. PUBLISHER [email protected] JOSIE SELLERS EDITOR [email protected] NANCY FORTUNE The Beacon is published by AloNovus Corp. © Copyright 2020 CIRCULATION [email protected] until further notice, and no donations will be accepted at this time. F i r s t S t e p ’s H o p e House Shelter will con- tinue to provide services. Additionally the helpline will remain open and be answered 24/7 at 740-622- 9533 or 740-622-8504. On- call services will continue to be provided 24 hours. For more information call 740-622-8504. HEAP deadline extended to May In response to the C OV I D -19 v i r u s , t h e HEAP Winter Crisis Pro- gram has been extended until Friday, May 1. K no-Ho-Co-Ashland will no longer conduct face-to-face appointments for the Winter Crisis Pro- gram, the Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus or its Emergency Servic- es Programs until further notice. The Winter Crisis ben- ef it amounts are as fol- lows: PUCO -reg u lat ed gas or electric customers may receive a benefit of up MARK FORTUNE Follow us on Facebook Due to the COVID-19 virus, First Step is taking the necessary precautions and will limit onsite ser- vices to emergencies and protection orders only. Individual sessions will use telehealth through tele- phone or cell phone. The Wednesday men’s group a nd T hu r s d ay s u p p o r t group will be cancelled at this time. The cloth- ing room will not be open to $175. Nonregulated elec- tric or gas (co-ops) may receive a benefit amount up to $750. Income-eligi- ble bulk fuel customers may receive up to $550 for wood or coal, and up to $900 is available for bulk fuel propane/bottled gas and fuel oil consumers. Benefits are allowed once per heating season. KHCA will conduct the application process via a mail, drop-off and phone- inter view process. Call the office at 740-622-9801 for instructions on how to begin this process. Submitted All it took was one phone call to get the ball rolling on a local effort to make face masks for local agencies. Local sewers helping to fill need for face masks By Jen Jones All it took was one phone call to get the ball rolling on a local effort to make face masks for local agencies. Rose of Sharon co-owner Vickie Davis said she got a call from a lady who was near tears because she need- ed face masks where she worked and asked if there was any way Davis could make them for her. “My nephew needs them for work too,” Davis said. Davis began calling local quilters, and the word has spread. “But we need to get the word out farther. The need for these is huge. These are not N95 masks. These are just used as another bar rier bet ween home care workers and the people they are helping,” she said. “It takes time to get st ar ted because you have to gather materials and find a pattern.” Davis said any material can be used for the masks, but you need three layers of material and a lining, which could be f lannel or interfacing. They are hav- ing trouble finding elastic, so she urges people to get creative with using head- bands or ties. She said there are many patterns on the inter net for this t y pe of mask, and she urged every- one to choose a pat ter n they can sew. “A n y b o d y w i t h a machine can help. I even had a 92-year-old lady call and ask what she can make,” Davis said. Finished masks can be dropped off at Mercantile on Main from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. “Denise has a foyer, and we have a sanitary place for you to drop off your masks. There are wipes there too. Agencies are already com- ing to pick up the masks,” Davis said. These agencies include I nter i m Health, R H DD, CCBDD and others. The people who work for these agencies provide health services for clients in their homes, and this is another safety measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. They also are being used by Coshocton Region- al Medical Center as patient masks. Anyone who wants to help is welcome. Howev- er, due to the virus being a respiratory one, be mindful the material used is clean as people may have pet aller- gies or problems with sec- ondhand smoke. “I truly believe this proj- ect is going to take off,” Davis said. Davis said in just a few days about 50 masks were made, so the more people who can make masks, the more people who will be helped. Check the Rose of Sha- ron Facebook page for more information.