Lifestyle

   The City of Bay City closed all non-essential departments effective immediately through Friday, April 3.
   “We will continue to respond to your calls and emails remotely as we follow the CDC guidelines to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” said the city’s Facebook page.
   Jury Duty scheduled for Thursday, March 26 in the County Court has been canceled.

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   Two Republican Primary runoff races will be moved from May 26 to July 14, after Gov. Greg Abbott postponed the primary runoff elections Friday under the emergency powers of his statewide disaster declaration over COVID-19 concerns.
    County Clerk Stephanie Wurtz said Gov. Greg Abbott moved Texas primary runoff elections from May 26 to July 14.
   In the Republican primary runoff for District 25 State Representative are Cody Vasut and Ro’vin Garrett.
   They were the top vote getters in a five-way race in the March 3 GOP primary.
   The District 25 includes Matagorda and Brazoria counties.
   The Republican runoff winner will face Democrat Patrick Henry in the November general election. Henry ran unopposed in his party’s primary.

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   Bay City ISD trustees unanimously approved reviewing a 313 appraised value limitation application from Rohem America, LLC. for a proposed $350 million facility during their regular monthly meeting Monday, March 23.
   Trustees Bob Klepac, Eddie Nelson, Trent Tinnin, James Scardami and John DeWitt were present for the meeting.
   Board members Jerry Manning and Frankie Cole were absent.
   Rohem intends to construct and operate a manufacturing facility to produce methyl methacrylate, which is a raw material used in a variety of industries that include the automotive and construction industries.

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  In the wake of local school districts’ campuses closing until further notice, teachers and districts are turning to online distance learning for their students.
   Bay City ISD has had over 1,600 families respond to the technology access survey in English and/or Spanish.  
   “Results reflect that we will have approximately 400 families that will need internet access and approximately 600 families that have no learning device. (Chromebook/iPad) in their home,” said BCISD Assistant Superintendent Lisa Moya.
   “BCISD has entered into an agreement with T-Mobile to purchase hotspots for families who lack internet connectivity. We are awaiting that shipment and are working on a hotspot/Chromebook distribution plan. More details and a timeline will be published later this week.”

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   EDITOR’S NOTE: District Attorney Steven Reis is well known for his Christmas stories.
   In this story, he tells about shopping in the time of quarantine.
   “Keep your distance!”
   She said it without a smile as she pushed her shopping cart through the aisle.
   The 40-something-old dour-faced woman directed it to a lady who was working the gardening area of WalMart. The admonished worker stopped abruptly, let the shopper pass, then went about her business. She flashed me a smile (unlike the severe shopper) as I entered looking for marigolds.
   I watched the shopper’s back as she navigated her way into the main store.
   “Seriously,” I thought, “YOU came to WalMart where half of our small town have to shop and then chose to be rude to someone who HAS to be at work…”

   When you think of sea turtles, do you think of tropical islands and clear, blue waters? 
   Do you ever associate these charismatic creatures with Matagorda Bay? 
   A lot of people may not realize it but- yes! - We do have sea turtles here in Matagorda. 
   If you’re lucky you might see some green sea turtles swimming along the seawall in Palacios. 
   Albeit a rare spotting- even the endangered, Texas state turtle, the Kemp’s Ridley, can be seen around the Matagorda Peninsula. 
   It is such a treat to catch a glimpse of these marine animals!
   As the sea turtles go about their day searching for food or a nesting area, they sometimes find themselves on the business end of a fishing rod. 
   For a lot people this can feel like a precarious situation; people are oftentimes too nervous to call wildlife authorities if they have accidentally caught a turtle. 

   An officer in the 4000 block of Avenue F heard several gun shots about 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, and began checking the area.
   The officer spoke with a man in the roadway who told him the shots came from a vehicle traveling south on Avenue F.
   Another officer in the area found two witnesses in the 4600 block of Avenue F. 
   The witnesses said the incident began with an argument in the 2400 block of Avenue F
   The argument did not turn physical, but all parties separated and left. 
   The victim was located by another officer in the 5100 block of Avenue F. 
   The victim advised that after leaving the 2400 block of Avenue F, a blue or black lifted Dodge truck pulled up next to her and the driver fired about three shots at her and then sped off on Avenue F going past Hamman Road. 
   The victim was not injured. There was no damage to the victim’s vehicle.

   Matagorda County United Way is moving the 12th Annual Day of Caring. 
   The event won’t be April 17, as originally planned. A new date will be selected after more information concerning the Corona (Covid19) virus becomes available. 
   “Everyone involved is looking forward to a wonderful and successful Day of Caring,” said Executive Director, Di Ann Sneed.
   The many senior citizens and people with disabilities are helped because of the generous gifts of volunteers and sponsors of their time, talent and resources. 
   “They make a real difference in the community,” Sneed said.
   The annual event is one of the largest community-wide service projects held each year. 
   Over 100 volunteers spend the day making home repairs at no cost to elderly and disabled homeowners. 
   Donations from local businesses and individuals are used to provide all materials.  

    All Matagorda County beaches and county facilities will be closed until further notice under an order commissioners court approved Thursday morning, March 19.
   The beaches, including those at Sargent, Matagorda, and Palacios, were closed Monday morning, March 23, the same time LCRA closed the Matagorda Bay Nature Center.
   In addition to the beaches, the court’s order last Thursday immediately closed the Matagorda County Fairgrounds, community centers, fire stations, and parks.
   An exception was made for the walking path at Blessing’s Pudge Heffelfinger Park, limited to groups of two.
   The county order does not affect City of Bay City or school parks.

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Collectively, Matagorda Regional Medical Center and other healthcare providers in the county are awaiting the results of over 40 COVID-19 tests from Matagorda County residents over the next several days.

What began as a relatively quick turnaround of around 24 hours on getting the COVID-19 tests returned, became “48 hours, then 72 hours, and then the time kept creeping back,” said Aaron Fox, MRMC’s Chief Business Development Officer and PIO.

“Over time, the tests were not processed and were more and more backed up,” he remarked.

“So now we have over 40 tests and it has been long enough to begin getting the results back.”

As of Friday afternoon, March 20, there have been three cases and one death related to COVID-19 in Matagorda County.

The first positive case was the state’s first confirmed COVID-19 that was community-spread.

And the death was the Texas’ first caused by the virus.