Sirkoâs steady message greatly appreciated
Many thanks to Dr. Diana Sirko for her outstanding leadership of District 51 during this unprecedented and challenging school year.
Dr. Sirkoâs messaging about the importance of mask-wearing to parents, staff and students has consistently followed scientific guidelines and has been greatly appreciated. In this new era of âchoiceâ in Mesa County, it is reassuring to know that at least one of our county leaders follows scientific principles to keep our children safe. Hopefully, everyone 16 and older will also heed the advice from her superintendent update and get the vaccine to help protect children who cannot yet get vaccinated. Dr. Sirkoâs leadership has allowed children in this community to have the fortune of attending in-person school all year, a remarkable accomplishment indeed.
It may seem like a no-brainer, but Colorado counties that have higher rates of residents getting the vaccine for the coronavirus have the lowest rates of new infections, state health experts say.
In Jefferson and Boulder counties, for example, about 65% of all residents have had at least their first dose of one of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Because of that, those counties are seeing fewer than 51 new infections per seven days per 100,000 residents.
In Pueblo and El Paso counties, however, vaccination rates are at about 40% of residents, and seven-day infection rates are closer to 300.
âOverall, what weâre really seeing here is our first clear sign, our first promising indication that weâre seeing community-level protection from vaccinations,â said Rachel Herlihy, Coloradoâs chief epidemiologist. âSo weâre seeing our communities protected through levels of vaccination that are higher, weâre seeing that impact on case rates occurring from county
Longtime Mesa County employee and head of its Department of Human Services, Tracey Garchar, died on Sunday. He was 48.
While the full details of his death arenât yet known, county officials said he died in his sleep while on a turkey hunting trip with his family.
Garchar had been executive director of the department since December 2010, but he had been deputy director and fiscal manager for the department for three years before taking the top job.
During that time, he also served short stints as interim director of the Mesa County Health Department and as head of the countyâs Workforce Center.
Garchar, Mesa County human services head, dies gjsentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gjsentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Parks and Recreation operations, with a couple of exceptions, are looking similar to pre-pandemic days after Mesa Countyâs Free to Choose resolution, which lifted many public health restrictions.
Parks and Recreation Director Ken Sherbenou said operations at the cityâs large parks, such as Canyon View and Lincoln parks, are pretty much back to normal. Outdoor spring sports are happening, and spectator capacity limits are no longer in effect.
âWe worked with the Mesa County Health Department to enable sports user groups for the springtime, and all the different user groups have been approved through the public health department,â Sherbenou said. âWhen the Free to Choose direction came from the county, that changed the distancing.â