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Ponderosa Elementary volunteer Pat Cooksey gives a brief speech during a surprise recognition ceremony on Wednesday. AARON SNYDER | THE DAILY INDEPENDENT
Longtime Ponderosa Elementary volunteer Pat Cooksey expresses surprise as she pulls away from tissue paper from a gift she received during a brief recognition ceremony on Wednesday. AARON SNYDER | THE DAILY INDEPENDENT
Ponderosa Elementary librarian Debbie Criss shares words of appreciation for volunteer Pat Cooksey on Wednesday. AARON SNYDER | THE DAILY INDEPENDENT featured top story
Aaron Snyder | The Daily Independent May 12, 2021
It seems difficult for employers to find high-quality workers these days, for whatever reason, and theyâre getting paid.
Dependable volunteers are becoming rarer and more valuable by the day, it appears, so people like Pat Cooksey are few and far between.
Debbie Criss, Ponderosa Elementaryâs librarian, inherited Cooksey, 75, as a hard-to-match asset 14 years ago â and Cooksey has been by her side two to three days a week throughout nearly two decades.
Cooksey has âretired,ââand the school honored her with a surprise celebratory gathering on Wednesday. She was âflabbergasted,ââshe said, but still spoke from the heart and delivered a moving speech in front of faculty in attendance. She showed her sense of humor as she shared a couple of comical stories, too.
Idaho adds 233 COVID-19 cases; state awarded money for response and vaccine efforts Ian Max Stevenson, The Idaho Statesman
May 12 National entities have awarded Idaho health officials funding to support ongoing vaccination efforts in a state where coronavirus caseload numbers are improving, but vaccine resistance means Idaho is lagging national averages.
On Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it is awarding $22 million to Idaho s Office of Emergency Management, according to a news release. The money is meant to help state and local agencies that have had to increase staffing, purchase supplies and equipment, or divert resources to vaccinate their populations.
Idahoâs COVID-19 cases continue to decline, but state lags national vaccine pace
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Coronavirus Disease 2019
and last updated 2021-05-10 21:31:49-04
Idahoâs COVID-19 daily case numbers and seven-day moving average for cases continue to decline, though the state continues to trail the national pace for vaccinations, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare data.
Health officials reported 340 new COVID-19 cases for the weekend and Monday, bringing the seven-day moving average of new daily cases down to 157.7. The moving average, which had hovered between 250 and 350 cases per day for several months, has continued to trend downward in recent weeks.
City of McCall lifts mask mandate; COVID-19 cases still low, but Idaho adds 8 deaths Rachel Roberts, The Idaho Statesman
May 8 The McCall City Council on Thursday lifted the mask mandate that was in effect inside city limits.
The order was expected to expire May 26, but city leaders approved a series of four metrics to monitor the impact of COVID-19 in the area at an April 22 meeting. When three of the four metrics are met, the council can consider terminating the order.
With three of the four metrics satisfied as of Thursday, the council chose to remove the mandate. The four mandates are: biweekly case rates remain in the green zone for four weeks; Valley County vaccine uptake for 16+ years of age reaches at least 65%; Valley County test positivity percentage remains below 5%; at least one dose of vaccine for 65+ across the Central District Health region reaches 75%.