While there won’t be a proper Clark County Fair this year, plans were announced Friday for a pandemic-adapted Family Fun Series at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
Cheers & Jeers: Libraries open, fair canceled The Columbian
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Cheers: To libraries. The Fort Vancouver Regional Library system is open to in-person visits for the first time in more than a year. After being shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, branches throughout Southwest Washington started inviting patrons to roam the stacks a couple weeks ago. “It was more emotional than we thought it’d be. The first time I heard a child cry, I almost teared up,” one branch manager told The Columbian.
Despite the lengthy closure, library staff continued to serve the region; a curbside pickup system established in June delivered about 115,000 items. There still are some restrictions dictated by COVID-19, but the reopenings are welcome by readers young and old. As author R. David Lankes is credited with saying: “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”
Updated: 9:41 AM PDT May 7, 2021
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. The 2021 Clark County Fair has been canceled because of rising infection rates in Washington and the limited capacity and activities allowed by the state.
The Clark County Fair will return Aug. 5-14, 2022.
John Morrison, manager and CEO of the fair, said many fair events result in large crowds in small spaces, like the midway, grandstands, carnival areas and food court. Based on the current Washington state guidelines for events and fairs, we would be challenged to monitor and maintain distance and the health and safety for our guests and volunteers, Morrison said.
Clark County health director Dr. Alan Melnick said Clark County Public Health advised that the fair not be held because of guidance from Gov. Jay Inslee and the rise in infection rates so close to the opening of the fair. The fair was scheduled to be held August 6-15.
Top 10 stories of 2020: Pandemic, shootings, wildfires hit Clark County by The Columbian
The SARS-COV-2 virus is incredibly small, but the reverberations of its impact on humanity dominated the events of 2020 and will linger for years.
There was never any question that the novel coronavirus pandemic is The Columbian’s and the world’s top story of 2020.
Clark County’s first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, was reported on March 7. Since then, it has sickened more than 12,000 people and taken the lives of more than 135 people.
It has shuttered businesses, reinvented learning and upended nearly every aspect of Clark County life.