The Coshocton County Beacon August 26, 2020 | Page 6

6 • The Beacon August 26, 2020 BF-00487560 Now Scheduling Summer and Fall Concrete Work Traditional & Decorative CONCRETE FLATWORK Crist Beachy and Sons • Family Owned and Operated Crist Beachy [phone] • [email protected] The Coshocton County Beacon will see you on Thursdays soon Yep, headlines are easier to write when you use clichés like this one. But I like it when you, the reader, can fill in the blanks. You could say the water, a restaurant, the store, church or any of a dozen other words. You get to choose. Hey, the Indians are on a six-game win streak as I write this column on Friday, Aug. 21. Take that Twins! We are already about halfway through the crazy season of 2020, and the Dodgers look like the team to beat. The Cubbies aren’t too shabby with 16 wins either and are taking the National League Central by storm. Tampa Bay is rolling too, rattling off nine wins out of their last 10 contests. The Blue Jackets gave it a great ride this season, giving Tampa Bay all they wanted in the playoffs, especially in game one, which went into five overtimes, and the Blue Mark Fortune Mark’s Musings Jackets on the short end of a 3-2 score. The City of Coshocton crews that worked on the water break on Third and Main streets deserve some recognition and credit for a job well done in repairing the break that happened on Thursday afternoon. Thanks to all of you. Things are happening all over Coshocton County with people starting businesses, making repairs and improvements. There are positive things happening all around. One of those is right here at The Beacon. Starting with next week’s issue (Sept. 3), The Beacon is moving our day of delivery to Thursday in order to accommodate a vastly improved quality of printing. We are confident you will enjoy the vibrant colors and quality of the paper. The Coshocton County Fair Board has made many difficult decisions this year, and all of the members deserve our thanks for striving to put on a fair that, while it will not look the same as fairs of the past, will still allow our youth to display their livestock project and be judged. No, it’s not going to be to everyone’s satisfaction, but what is this year? I think the fact we are having a fair at all is a testament to the fortitude and dedication these men and women have to this community and especially to our youth. It will be a lot of hard work for the fair board members to hold a fair at all this year. Their efforts and service to our community deserve our gratitude. Many of the fair board members came up through the junior fair, so they know the sacrifices and effort that go into raising and caring for a livestock project. The decision to hold the junior fair in a new format and, in particular, not have the showmanship classes was an agonizing and carefully thought-out and discussed decision by the board. The safety of our youth, their families and the community were paramount to this decision. All of us need to be careful during this time and think before we make that social-media post or comment. Most people seem to be short on patience right now. The lesson learned during this global pandemic would seem to be that we are not in control. We’re not used to that are we? DeWine gives all sports the green light Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday, Aug. 18 that he will sign a new Ohio Department of Health order that permits contact sports including the fall sports of field hockey, soccer and football to move forward with games against other schools. The governor confirmed support for Ohio’s coaches to inspire their student-athletes to continue following safety precautions so that all sports can be played. Field hockey, soccer and football now join the OHSAA’s previously approved fall sports of girls and boys golf, girls tennis, volleyball, and girls and boys cross country. With the majority of high schools in Ohio wanting to play sports this fall, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has been working with the Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health toward a new health order that contains modifications from previous orders. “I hope that the desire to have a season will inspire our young people, our athletes, our student-athletes, 24/7 to be as careful as they can,” DeWine said during his press conference on Tuesday. “I hope also that our coaches will use this as an opportunity to focus on helping these young people understand what really is at stake. If they are going to be able to play, they are going to have to do everything they can to keep COVID out of their team.” “The OHSAA is moving forward because we want kids to have an opportunity to participate, and the Governor’s Office is providing that opportunity and a chance,” said Bob Goldring, OHSAA interim executive director. “So for that we are most appreciative. It’s important to remember that our student-athletes have been practicing and training with others for weeks and even months, and it has gone well. So we believe they deserve the chance to move forward and that the high school space is also different than the collegiate space.” The OHSAA staff has developed sport-specific Field hockey, soccer and football now join the OHSAA’s previously approved fall sports of girls and boys golf, girls tennis, girls volleyball, and girls and boys cross country. Pictured practicing for their season are River View High School cross country runners Brice Cross (12th grade), Lincoln Titus (12 grade) and Luke Allen (11th grade). modifications and recommendations for schools when conducting interscholastic competition. Links to these sport-specific documents were originally included in the July 22 memo when the Return to Play Recommendations document was released. Links to updated sport-specific requirements, modifications and recommendations are posted at www. ohsaa.org/Home/OHSAA- Submitted COVID-19-Correspondence. “COVID-19 certainly has created a risk factor, and that is something on which each family has to decide for their student, and each local school district has to make decisions on moving forward based on all the information they have been presented,” Goldring said. “But we also believe our student-athletes, coaches and school adminis- See SPORTS Page 8