School lunches
Due to social distancing requirements while schools are closed down, families are homeschooling. The families provide ice chests for school personnel to put the lunches in. This photo was taken on Tuesday, April 28th of a stop on Badger Ridge Road in Pinedale.
|
Diapers for those in need
Hope Choice has a lot of free diapers, wipes, and formula for anyone in our community that has a need. They were donated by United Way of Southwest Wyoming specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Emmy Daniels, Branch Director at Hope Choice Pregnancy Centers and Mentoring Programs in Pinedale.
|
Dash Board
On April 23rd, the Governor announced beginning steps to reopen Wyoming, with this Dashboard as a graphic to use.
|
Row of thank you signs
Planted on the empty lot where the old Pinedale Town Hall used to be on Pine Street.
|
Health Care Workers
|
Thank you Ridleys!
|
Sheriff's Office
|
Thank you Sublette Center
|
Thank you Post Office!
|
Sublette County School Dist #1
|
Thank you Firefighters
|
Hope Choice
|
Altitude Drug
|
April 23rd Wyoming map
Two counties in the state of Wyoming haven't had any confirmed COVID-19 cases.
|
Happy Birthday Keaton!
Birthday party gatherings aren't allowed, so the emergency services people did a surprise drive by for 12-year Keaton in Boulder.
|
Cruisin Derby
Their annual fundraiser got cancelled, so PFAC got creative and decided to do a Cruisin event down Pinedale's main street.
|
Cruising Down Main
|
Cowboy Bar
Getting creative staying outside using the parking lot and strict spacing of tables for social distancing.
|
Attention Returning Snowbirds
|
Financial Stress
|
Scams
Scammers never let up
|
Before Coming to Sublette County
|
We're Open, but...
Social Distancing sign on door of the Big Piney Office Outlet store.
|
Quiet Streets
View of quiet Pine Street/US 191 and Ridley's Market parking lot showing minimal traffic and much fewer shoppers in the grocery store.
|
Cancelled as far out as June
This is the annual fundraiser for Kickin' Cancer in Sublette County. Even though this story is being written in April, the June event is already shown as cancelled.
|
Baking cookies
Have LOTS of time at home, so baked a bunch of chocolate chip cookies to fill the cookie jar.
|
Grocery Store Guidance
|
Still Limited
Even a month into the shut-down, shortages and limits were still found at the grocery store April 10th.
|
Staying safe at Boulder Post Office
Photos by Nancy Fischer
|
Working from home
View from 'home office' in Boulder. Photo by Renee' Smythe.
|
Easter Bunny Parade
Because of the coronavirus quarantines, the usual annual Easter Egg Hunts were all cancelled. The Pinedale Aquatic Center came up with the fun idea of having the Easter Bunny go on a town driving tour on Friday, April 10th. He had scheduled times to be in certain neighborhoods and kids could come out and wave to him. Then he ended up at the PAC parking lot where parents could drive by and have the kids wave to him. It was all great, safe fun! Photo by Pinedale Aquatic Center.
|
Helping with homework
Kaylynne Sims helps her son Wyatt with homework during the time schools were shut down.
|
'Be The Light' Parade
Pinedale High School participated in a "Be The Light" Parade to honor the class of 2020, the spring athletes that lost out on their season, the health care workers, and emergency personnel who are risking their own well being on behalf of the citizens of Sublette County. The lights were turned on Korfanta Field at Gene Andrews Stadium on Friday, April 10th from 8:20-8:40 PM. A parade of private vehicles, police, and ambulances drove through, all honking horns and cheering. Click here for a video: 'Be The Light' Pinedale parade
|
COVID-19 April 12th
Map showing coronavirus spread across the US as of Easter Sunday, April 12th. Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, rural states where people are more spread out, had fewer cases during the pandemic.
|
Census 2020
The April 1 date to start the federal census landed smack in the middle of the COVID-19 national quarantine. Fortunately, they created many ways people could fill out the census online and by phone to minimize not having to have census takers go door to door to do in-person interviews.
|
World COVID-19 numbers
As of Saturday, April 11, 2020, there were more than 1.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 108,000 deaths. The good news was that over 400,000 people had recovered from the disease world-wide.
|
US COVID-19 numbers
As of April 11, 2020, the U.S. numbers were over 526,000 confirmed cases, more than 20,000 deaths, and 31,000 people recovered from the coronavirus. High US numbers are partially because of the large amount of testing done to confirm cases providing better statistics than in other countries.
|
STOP Shoppers
People were encouraged to only go out and shop to get essential supplies and only have one person per household go out to the stores.
|
Limit trips to the grocery store
|
People in stores
|
Recreate Where You LIve
|
Take Out Tuesday
There was a big push to encourage people to support local restaurants that had to close their doors during the quarantine. Dining establishments could still serve take-out and do curbside delivery of orders.
|
Buy a gift card!
Shoppers were encouraged to buy a gift card from local stores and restaurants. The stores would get money right away and people could enjoy a meal or shop later after the quarantine is over.
|
Cheap gas but nowhere to go
By April 9, gas prices dropped to a national average of $1.89, down from $2.38 one month ago. Pinedale prices were $1.99/gallon. In 2019, the April 9 the national average price was $2.75/gallon for regular unleaded. Low demand due to stay-at-home policies aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus and a recent crude oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia was behind the dramatic drop. California prices were $2.92/gallon. Hawaii was the highest at $3.31. Wisconsin had the cheapest gas with some stations selling regular unleaded at $0.69/gallon.
|
COVID Lady
COVID Lady
Arnold Brokling sent in this picture in response to the call for pictures, seen on Fremont Lake Road in Pinedale on Thursday, April 9th. "Not really sure what to call it but it is definitely time stamped to current events." Photo by Arnold Brokling.
|
Hearts, rainbows and teddy bears
Stained glass hearts and rainbows have become international symbols of "We'll get through this." The teddy bear is part of a "Bear Hunt" for kids to find bears in windows around the county. This is a window painting on Office Outlet in Pinedale.
|
Sidewalk chalk
As nicer days melted the snow and kids wanted to be outside, sidewalk drawing became popular and chalk couldn't be found in the stores.
|
Cutting out facemasks
Lots of people made their own facemasks for family members. Patterns could be found online for adult and youth sizes. Some kids wanted several in different colors.
|
No Easter Church Services
Church gatherings were banned early on, but even a drive-in service for Easter Sunday was cancelled by recommendation of state health officials. Some churches wanted to hold "drive-in" services where they collected in a spacious parking lot, stay in their cars and listen to Easter services through Facebook Live and short distance radio broadcast, but even that was deemed too risky. Although disappointed, the faithful understood the caution and reaffirmed their faith on the important Easter holiday in other creative and meaningful ways.
|
Closures
|
Regular Updates
The Sublette COVID Response Team did updates on Facebook Live on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.
|
Wearing masks
Front to back: Valerie Werbelow, Madison Dugan, Kristen Hughes at Proactive Rehabilitation in Pinedale. Proactive wants to thank the PEO Sisterhood: Connie Berry, Cindy Van, and Joni Mack, who donated 15 homemade masks last week for the entire Proactive staff. Photo by Sue Holz, Proactive Rehabilitation.
|
Sublette Center - No Visitors
Senior care nursing homes were some of the first facilities to be put under lockdown to keep residents safe from people who might be carriers of the coronavirus.
|
No Visitors
Signs on the door of the Sublette Center caution that visitors are not allowed at this time. The extreme policy is a Directive from the State Health Officer. Thankfully so far none of the residents have become sick from the very contagious virus.
|
Cleaning products
Multiple cleaning products sit on the counter in the Sublette BOCES office in Pinedale. Most everyone has a ready supply of these types of products handy and are using them often to wipe down frequently touched surfaces.
|
PAC
The normally packed parking lot at the Pinedale Aquatic Center is empty. The PAC had to shut down the facility and classes. They have found many creative ways to still keep people engaged while maintaining social distancing.
|
Closed since March 16th
The Pinedale Aquatic Center has been closed since March 16th, three+ weeks so far.
|
A little too quiet
These steps to the Pinedale Aquatic Center are usually bustling with adults and children coming in and out. They have been forced to shut down for weeks now. They are taking advantage of the down time to do their major cleaning now instead of waiting until June.
|
Note the teddy bears
The PAC may be closed down, but the staff is always thinking about their guests. Note the teddy bears sitting on the inside door handle. They are part of the "Bear Hunt" for kids to find around town, an activity to help keep kids active and cheer them up with so many of their favorite places closed right now.
|
Empty high school parking lot
It's the middle of the week on a school day and normally this parking lot would be full. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Pinedale high school parking lot is completely empty. Schools are closed and kids are schooling from home with online classes.
|
No kids
It's a gorgeous warm sunny day and this is a beautiful playground, but there are no kids. The coronavirus warnings have kids staying close to home so as not to spread germs or catch them. It isn't summer. This is a school day, and even the little kids are 'in school' as best as can be manufactured during these crazy times with the quarantine shut down.
|
Keep your distance
On April 2nd, new guidelines were issued for social distancing in post offices. The post office was considered an "essential service" so stayed open during the pandemic.
|
Pinedale Post Office
Three weeks into the shut down, the Pinedale Post Office had to abide by Public Health Office restrictions on the number of people who could be in the lobby at any time, as well as putting up plastic sheeting between workers and customers.
|
Pinedale Post Office
In addition to plastic sheeting, there is yellow caution tape on the counters and a yellow tape line on the floor that customers are asked not to cross, in order to keep six foot distancing. Postal employees wear gloves and face masks. Photo taken April 6, 2020, three weeks into the shut down.
|
Pinedale Town Hall
All government offices are closed to public traffic, but staff can work, with care, behind the locked doors and help as best they can with phone calls and emails.
|
STOP!
A sign by the entry to the Pinedale Town Hall tells visitors there is No Entry to the main office due to the coronavirus.
|
Front door of Pinedale Town Hall
The Pinedale Town Hall front door is covered with signs related to the restrictions in place due to COVID-19 pandemic. The door is locked. People must call in to get service.
|
Sidewalk Repair
The County is taking advantage of the downtime being closed to do some repair work on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. The offices inside are closed to the public until further notice due to COVID-19, although courthouse employees are still working behind the scenes on a limited basis and are available by phone.
|
Pinedale Library
The Pinedale Library closed to the public on March 18th (3 weeks from the day this photo was taken) with no opening in sight. The staff is going above and beyond to offer online services and a weekly newsletter with ideas for activities to keep busy during the coronavirus quarantine.
|
Studying
6th grader, Dominic takes advantage of a beautiful sunny spring day and the free internet access at the Pinedale Library, to work on his school work.
|
Closed
Closed sign on the door of the Pinedale Ranger District office of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Taken during what would normally be regular business hours.
|
IF
Visitors are carefully screened before they are allowed entrance into the Pinedale Ranger District office.
|
Do Not Come In If
Sign on door: Do Not Come In if you are sick or you have been in contact with someone who is sick, have traveled out of the country in the last 2 weeks, or have been at an airport.
|
Sorry
A sign on the front door of the Hair Outfitter in Pinedale says due to COVID-19 they are shut down until April 30th. Customers can call and leave a message to place orders.
|
Sanitizing after each customer
Before they were entirely shut down, a sign on the door of the Hair Outfitter said they are sanitizing after each customer to protect clients as well as possible. Beauty shops have been completely closed down for several weeks now.
|
Drive through open
Customers can still get adult beverages from the Outfitter Liquor Drive-Thru, but you cannot go into the store.
|
Readerboard
A reader board in front of Ridley's grocery store in Pinedale has helpful information about the coronavirus pandemic.
|
Reading
A shopper reads the information about the coronavirus warnings on the reader board before entering the grocery store.
|
You can make a difference
A red stop sign in front of the entry to Ridley's Market in Pinedale encourages customers to shop only when essential, preferably once a week, shop alone, and help stop the spread of coronavirus.
|
Masks and Gloves
Many shoppers going into the grocery store are wearing masks and gloves to protect themselves and others in the store. Ridley's deserves high praise for their efforts to ensure the safety of their customers and employees. They are on the front lines of exposure potential during this virus pandemic.
|
Entrepreneurship
Tim Trites, master distiller at Cowboy Country Distilling in Pinedale, came up with the clever idea of turning his distilling efforts into making the much-needed hand sanitizer which by two weeks in was impossible to buy in stores.
|
Information Board
Reader board with COVID-19 information in front of Rendezvous Pointe Senior Center in Pinedale. The Center is working behind the scenes to provide meals to shut-in seniors.
|
Foyer sign
Sign on front doors of Rendezvous Pointe in Pinedale. Not many days afterwards, the senior center had to completely close to visitors and are available by call-in.
|
Sooner or Later
Sign on door of Rendezvous Pointe Senior Center in Pinedale warns people to wash their hands and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth to keep from getting the coronavirus.
|
No TP
Across the nation as the pandemic progressed, people began to panic and do extreme buying. One of the things that disappeared off store shelves was toilet paper. Rumor had it that if it could be found, a package of six rolls was selling for $20. This is a picture of the empty toilet paper aisle in Ridley's Market in Pinedale on March 12th. Photo by Bob Rule, KPIN 101.1 FM Radio.
|
No TP on Amazon either
Toilet paper couldn't be found on Amazon.com either.
|
No cases yet in Sublette County
As of March 27th, still no cases in Sublette County
|
Cancelled
Two big performances scheduled by the Pinedale Fine Arts Council had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. There were a lot of disappointed kids who didn't get to audition for being in Snow White.
|
No gatherings
Gatherings of more than 10 people were discouraged at first, then it became no gatherings allowed at all.
|
Coronavirus map March 10
|
Empty roads
People listened to the orders and stayed home and off the roads for the most part. Interstate 80 was left to the truckers and emergency travelers. Pictured here is Interstate 80 near Evanston on March 28th. Photo by WYDOT webcam.
|
How to Wash Your Hands
We need directions for this?
|
Change of plans
White Pine Ski area hoped to sneak in two last weekends in March before ending their winter season. They had some great events planned, but Sublette County Health officials strongly persuaded them to shut down on March 21st, ending their season a painful two weeks early.
|
The Governor talks to the state
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon held frequent press conferences addressing the state. He is pictured here on March 25th.
|
Informing the public
On March 25th, Sublette County health officials held a media update which was broadcast live on KPIN radio and on Facebook Live. In subsequent media updates, even the health officials had to stay six feet apart from each other and had to switch to Facebook Live and Zoom meetings to give updates, each participating from different locations.
|
Janna Lee
Sublette County Public Health Nurse Janna Lee gives an update on the COVID-19 situation in Sublette County via ZOOM on March 27th.
|
Dr. Fitzsimmons
Dr. Brandon Fitzsimmons, Sublette County Public Health Officer, gave many updates to the community. He is pictured here during a ZOOM conference on March 27th.
|
Zooming updates
Sublette County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Travis Bingham served as Public Information Officer for the Sublette COVID-19 Group. Here he hosts a ZOOM public update on March 27th.
|
Sublette County Commissioners
The Sublette County Commissioners practice social distancing during a meeting held via ZOOM on March 24th.
|
We're getting a new hospital
On March 26th, the Sublette County Rural Health Care District Board held a special meeting to vote to approve getting the USDA loan to build a new Critical Access Hospital in Pinedale. The meeting was broadcast on Facebook Live since social distancing rules would not allow public to attend.
|
Covering the story
Getting the story was difficult under quarantine conditions saying no one, including reporters, could go out. The local newspapers did a great job, with stories about the local food pantries trying to keep up with food requests, supplies going out to home-bound students, local sewers making masks and gowns, and tracking the disease progress in the county.
|
Hawaii has first death
By April 6th, Wyoming was the only state in the U.S. without a COVID-19 death.
|
Wyoming only state with no COVID-19 death
As of April 6th, Wyoming was the only state in the US without a COVID-19 related death.
|
The staff is working from home
Humor helps lighten the seriousness of the times
|
Cloth Masks
|
This one has a virus
|
Continue using facemasks at home
Phased recovery plans to Reopen America Again announced on April 16th. Some still recommend using facemasks while at home.
|
|
