Credit Michele Skalicky
A mass COVID-19 vaccination site in Springfield is closing. The site at the corner of Grand and Kansas Expressway was operated by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department and Jordan Valley Community Health Center. It opened February 3, and more than 41,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered there.
According to the health department, the focus has shifted to offering clinics in smaller, more convenient settings as the availability of the vaccine has increased.
The health department and Jordan Valley will continue to offer vaccine clinics at places like businesses, nonprofits, churches, events and neighborhood centers.
And Jordan Valley is offering walk-in clinics Monday through Friday from 8 to 3 with extended hours Tuesday from 8 to 6 at their 618 N. Benton location.
Credit Michele Skalicky / Flickr
When Springfield’s mask mandate is lifted as of Friday, May 28, businesses and organizations may still require people to wear them. But the Springfield-Greene County Library District said it won’t require visitors to wear face masks or social distance in its buildings starting next Friday.
However, in a news release, the library district said those who aren’t yet vaccinated against COVID-19 should continue to wear masks and social distance.
Starting June 1, the public will be able to schedule library meeting rooms through the Spaces reservation system; the Mobile Library will resume normal service; The Edge Community Technology Center will begin scheduling one-on-one help sessions and Edge Mobile sessions; and public computers will begin being restored at library branches.
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One man’s passion for trees more than 50 years ago led to the creation of a nonprofit organization based in Strafford. The Lovett Pinetum works to develop and manage a collection of several hundred species of conifers.
The pinetum encompasses a 108 acre site just east of Springfield and a 43-acre site in Texas. In all, there are more than 500 species, varieties and cultivars of conifers on those acres.
It all began in 1970 when Springfield pathologist, Dr. Bob Lovett, purchased 14 acres of land with a beautiful, lush spring on it. At the time, though, the spring had been used as a dumping ground for trash by people who lived nearby. Lovett spent a lot of time cleaning it up. That spring, another on the more newly-acquired property and two others nearby are the headwaters for Pearson Creek, which has been listed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a polluted waterway, most recently in 2020.
Credit Michele Skalicky
Another Ozarks city is ending its mask ordinance that was put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The City of Ozark’s mandate will end at 11:59 Thursday night, April 22. According to a press release, the decision to end the mask requirement was made due to declining cases, vaccination efforts and “the wishes of Ozark’s residents.”
City officials say businesses in Ozark may still require customers to wear masks when they’re on their property. They remind residents that the fight against COVID-19 isn’t over and they encourage residents to get vaccinated, continue social distancing and wearing a mask if they can’t be more than six feet from others.
Credit Michele Skalicky
The City of Branson will no longer require masks in public spaces as of this Friday. In March, the Board of Aldermen voted to end the mask mandate on May 24th. But yesterday, the board voted in favor of an ordinance sponsored by Branson’s newly elected mayor, Larry Milton, to end the requirement earlier.
According to a news release, Milton sponsored the bill because of the declining cases of COVID-19 in Missouri and because 23.3 percent of Stone County residents and 19.7 percent of Taney County residents have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The city is encouraging local businesses to mandate their own safety requirements for staff and customers.