6 • The Beacon July 29 , 2021

Last year “ returning to normal ,” “ returning to a new normal ” and several other phrases were all the rage . I hesitated to say , “ All the norm .” Our new normal could be anything but as we now face the “ Delta variant ” of the COVID-19 virus . There is an Alpha variant , a Beta variant , a Delta variant and even a P . 1 ( Gamma ) variant now circulating in the U . S ., according to the Centers for Disease Control .

This mutation of the COVID-19 virus surfaced in India and is in more than 98 countries , and it now has a variant

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called “ Delta Plus .” The delta variant is believed to be the most transmissible variant yet , so to think we are out of the woods yet would not be true . With the variant , sources are saying the loss of taste and smell that were symptoms of the original virus are not as prevalent or may not occur at all with the Delta variant . Headaches , runny nose , sore throat

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and fever are the more likely symptoms you will experience .

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are in full swing , and the medal count as of Monday , July 26 has Japan with the most gold medals , followed by the U . S . and China , respectively . China leads in the overall medal count with 18 . There are more than 1,000 medals to be awarded .

Is my official Cleveland Indians baseball cap now worth more money ? That is the question of the day as Indian fans everywhere reacted to the

name change . The Cleveland Indians will now be known as the Cleveland Guardians in a move team owner Paul Dolan said would happen . The Guardians ? Where did this come from ? Why did the team not choose to return to the Naps ? It may take some time for “ old ” Indians fans to adapt to the new name , logo , et cetera . One thing is for certain : This now changes the perspective of the movie , “ Major League .”

Speaking of baseball , the Reds have won more games than the team from Cleveland as of today : 51 versus 49 .

The fourth annual Sunflower Festival at the Coshocton KOA is almost here , starting on Saturday , Aug . 7 . You can read all about this year ’ s festival on page four of The Beacon .

There is positivity galore happening in Coshocton County . People are starting businesses , restaurants , cleaning up , renovating and much , much more . Main Street is bouncing back in a big way with improvements including the removal of some trees in the 200 block , and even First Farm Friday will return on Aug . 6 . There are so many things to be thankful for in our community .

There also are events happening at the fairgrounds with the recently concluded Rough Truck and the upcoming UTV Rally . It won ’ t be long before we can head to the fairgrounds for a real fair this fall .

Speaking of fall and late summer , it ’ s almost time for those youngsters to head back to you know where . The Ohio sales tax “ holiday ” will start Friday , Aug . 6 at noon and carry through Sunday , Aug . 8 at 11:59 p . m . It ’ s a good time to get those school supplies .

Leadership Coshocton County turns 30 this year , and the alumni council has planned a weekend of fellowship , fun and family .

On Friday , Aug . 13 , a casino night will be held at the Moose Lodge from 7-10 p . m . It ’ s $ 10 to play , and tickets will be available

at the door . All are welcome .

Family Fun Day will be held Saturday , Aug . 14 at Burt Park in West Lafayette from noon to 3 p . m . Admission is free . There will be a bounce house , K-9 demonstration , King ’ s Kastle Kreation ’ s Food Truck and games with

Kid ’ s America . The event is open to the public .

The alumni dinner and banquet is scheduled for Saturday , Aug . 14 at Coshocton Village Inn & Suites from 6-9 p . m . Preregistration and payment is required by Wednesday , Aug . 4 . Dinner includes music by

Hi-Fi Rendezvous , a meal catered by Schumaker Farms and the awarding of the Outstanding Leadership Alumni Award . This is an alumni-only event with invited guest .

For more information or to register for the banquet , email lead @ coshoctonfoundation . org .