Mahaska County Public Health Coordinator Patty Malloy reminds us who would be at greater risk for getting the coronavirus.
“People over the age of 65, underlying health conditions, including diabetes, serious heart condition, lung condition, asthma, COPD, those types of things. And people with low immunity are people that really need to be careful during this time.”
Mahaska Health has set up a COVID-19 public hotline to answer your questions about the coronavirus. You can call 641-676-3599.
Knoxville Raceway is delaying the start of its 2020 racing season until Saturday, May 2. The races scheduled for April 18 and 25 have been rescheduled to Friday, May 29 and Friday, July 3.
JOE DIFFIE died yesterday because of complications from COVID-19. He was 61. His family posted the news on Facebook. It was only Friday that he announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Joe had 17 Top 10 Country hits . . . and five of them went to #1. Those were: “Pickup Man”, “Third Rock From the Sun”, “Bigger Than the Beatles”, “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)”, and “Home”.
Some of his other hits included “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)”, “John Deere Green”, and “So Help Me Girl”. Joe also placed 12 albums on the “Billboard” Top Country Albums charts between 1990 and 2013.
He was churning out hits while a lot of today’s country stars were growing up, and they still love the guy. He got shout-outs in Jason Aldean’s hit “1994” . . . and Chris Young’s “Raised on Country”. Joe was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993.
His final album was “Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie”, which came out last year. It featured new takes on 11 of his hit singles. Joe was married four times and had five children. He’s survived by his wife Tara.
Today in 1992, Garth Brooks made the cover of “Time.” They called him a “jumping-jack-flash performer who can bring 40-year-olds to tears with existential hymns about accepting life’s compromises” inside their pages.
By DAN SEWELL
CINCINNATI (AP) — In the battle to keep their New York City restaurant going despite sharp restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak, the owners of Il Posto Accanto are relying on something Beatrice Tosci would have considered sacrilege in normal times.
“The biggest change is that we offer our food for delivery which never, never, never, ever, ever, ever happened before,” said Tosci. “I like my food to go from the kitchen to the table, and that’s it!”
However, with New York becoming the U.S. epicenter of the contagion and under self-quarantining edicts, she and husband Julio Pena have little choice but to package up their traditional Italian cooking such as meatballs and pasta and send them out.
Across the United States, restaurateurs are transforming operations to try to stay afloat. The National Restaurant Association warns the coronavirus outbreak could cost five to seven million jobs and hundreds of billions in losses and is pushing for a special federal relief package for restaurants. In an industry of traditionally tight profit margins, some decided that it’s time to take chances.
Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants, a Cincinnati-based chain that had laid off more than a third of its 5,000 employees in the first days of bans on in-restaurant dining, last week pivoted into the grocery business. Besides its signature Big Boy double-decker burgers and onion rings, customers at its 100 restaurants in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky can buy bread, milk and and produce at its drivethrus and carryout counters and via home delivery.
Frisch’s saw a quick jump in revenues at a time when people have been frustrated by long lines and shortages at traditional supermarkets. Toilet paper is in high demand, and Frisch’s and others are using it as a lure.
Westmont Diner in Westmont, New Jersey, has added it to carry-out options at 60 cents a roll, along with paper towels, soap, bleach and other household needs. Lindey’s in Columbus throws in a free roll with all takeout orders. Frontier in Chicago gave out decks of cards to homebound customers with their carryout dinners.
With the number of states with stay-at-home orders growing, some restaurateurs decided to shut down. Cameron Mitchell, based in Columbus, said carryout offerings weren’t bringing in enough business to keep his namesake chain of 36 restaurants in 12 states going. More than 4,000 employees were laid off last week.
Some fine-dining restaurants unused to carryout are trying scaled-down menu at bargain prices.
In Chicago, patrons can now carry out food for a fraction of the typical dine-in tab at Alinea, where nabbing a seat typically requires reservations weeks in advance and dinners can cost as much as $395 per head. Alinea now offers takeout meals of beef wellington, mashed potatoes and crème brûlée for $39.95, and reports strong sales so far.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday that with Californians under a stay-home edict, restaurants are allowed to deliver alcoholic beverages along with meals to boost their revenues and well, because booze.
Sitting in the nearly empty Frisch’s “Mainliner” restaurant where the chain originated in suburban Cincinnati in 1942, Frisch’s CEO Jason Vaughn said customers at the privately held chain’s 100 restaurants in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky have asked for additions, such as bottles of orange juice, quarts of soup and coffee for home. Frisch’s is trying to leverage its supply chain to accommodate requests.
Vaughn predicts the crisis will change the industry.
“People have changed habits,” Vaughn said. “When the green light goes on, we don’t expect to come back as status quo … when we go to whatever that new norm is, we’ll see if we can continue it (groceries) if it’s a service the community wants.”
At Il Posto Accanto, Tosti worries about potential months-long restrictions. The restaurant that dates to 1995 is down to 10 employees, from 14 before it.
“Too many,” she said of how much they have worked since the restrictions put in place last week.
“Nine days,” she reflected. “It feels like nine years.”
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Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz in Chicago, Amanda Myers in Los Angeles and AP Business Writer Alexandra Olson in New York contributed.
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Follow Dan Sewell at https://www.twitter.com/dansewell.
Oskaloosa–Three Statesmen cagers were honored for tremendous seasons as the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball All-America teams were announced Thursday.
Dexter Hood (Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) was selected for the 10-person first team, while Kevion Blaylock (Jr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) collected third-team laurels (10 players on that squad). Karmari Newman (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) was also picked as one of 55 honorable mentions. An additional 10 student-athletes were honored on the second team as well.
The trio pushes William Penn’s All-American tally to 27, including 24 during Head Coach John Henry‘s tenure. They helped the Statesmen to a 30-3 overall record, highlighted by a 21-3 Heart of America Athletic Conference mark. WPU won the league’s regular season and tournament titles and qualified for nationals for the 10th time in school history. Unfortunately, the national tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hood, who is the fifth first-teamer in school history, led the navy and gold in scoring with 20.2 points, while also averaging 6.7 rebounds. He amassed 56 assists, 35 steals, and five blocks as well, while shooting 57.3% overall (36.1% 3-PT) and 68.5% from the free-throw line.
Nationally, the senior ranked sixth in NAIA Division I in total points (668), ninth in scoring average, and 15th in field-goal percentage. His 2019-2020 campaign was one of the most prolific single seasons in school history as he finished third in field goals made (247), fourth in points, sixth in scoring average, and eighth in free throws attempted (184).
His 20.2 points per game helped Hood to finish his time as a Statesmen fourth on the career list, while he is also seventh in career field-goal percentage at 57.3%.
Although he played in just 20 games, Blaylock’s numbers could not be ignored by the A-A’s selection committee as he averaged a double-double of 16.4 points and 11.2 rebounds. The junior also tallied 35 assists, 15 blocks, and 10 steals, while shooting 55.5% from the floor (40.0% 3-PT) and 84.3% at the charity stripe.
Blaylock made his mark in a few of William Penn’s top-10 single-season categories, including rebounding average (6th), free-throw percentage (7th), and three-point percentage (10th).
Newman excelled from the perimeter, averaging 15.9 points on 37.2% three-point shooting (108-for-290). The junior also collected 3.2 rebounds per game, while posting 48 assists, 31 steals, and one block as well. He shot 39.7% overall and 78.1% from the line.
Newman ended the year third in the NAIA in three-pointers made and fifth in three-pointers per game (3.48), while finishing fourth on WPU’s single-season list in both three-pointers made and three-pointers attempted.
Chris Coffey of Georgetown (Ky.) was named the NAIA’s Player of the Year, while John Moore of Westmont (Calif.) was tabbed as Coach of the Year. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) Head Coach Austin Johnson received NABC-NAIA Coach of the Year laurels.
For a complete list of NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball All-Americans, go to https://www.naia.org/sports/
It’s been over two weeks since Oskaloosa School students were in class. And the district’s Elementary School teachers miss their kids. So this morning, over 40 cars filled with elementary teachers paraded through Oskaloosa. Third grade teacher Keri Van Polen set up the parade.
“I’d seen it going around Facebook, a bunch of different districts had done it. And I figured we all kind of miss our kids at this point. So if it’s something we can at least do to get our faces out there and wave at the kids and see them even if it is from six feet away to keep our social distancing.”
And dozens of elementary students came out to wave to their teachers as the parade moved around the downtown square. Second grader Maryn Scott told us what she misses most about her teacher.
“Probably her reading us stories and stuff like that.”
Maryn’s older brother, fifth grader Lynden Scott, told us what he misses about his teacher.
“Her funny voices when she reads stories.”
As of now, Oskaloosa students won’t be back in their classrooms until April 13. We’ll have photos of the parade on our Facebook pages.
Gov. Kim Reynolds is ordering the closure of more nonessential businesses to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Reynolds announced Thursday (3/26) that she had expanded an earlier closure order to include stores selling furniture, books, clothing, shoes, jewelry and other items. The business closures already included bars, dine-in restaurants, theaters, casinos and gyms and will last until at least April 7. Schools will remain closed at least until April 13. Reynolds also ordered dentists to halt all but emergency work and directed hospitals not to perform any nonessential surgeries and procedures.
CBS and the ACM will air a new two-hour special, “ACM Presents: Our Country” in place of the now-postponed ACM Awards. The show will feature artists performing from home via video chat, and also sharing some of their favorite ACM moments, and now we know who’ll be participating.
Performers confirmed for the show include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown & John Legend, Luke Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley & Darius Rucker, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban.
The special will also include a salute to the late Kenny Rogers, who passed away last week. It will feature performances by Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker.
“ACM Presents: Our Country” will air April 5th on CBS at 8 pm.
Source: ACM
On this day in 1985, RCA released Restless Heart’s self-titled debut album.
“Let the Heartache Ride,” “I Want Everyone to Cry,” “(Back to the) Heartbreak Kid” and “Til I Loved You” were released as singles. The album reached #10 on the Top Country Albums chart.
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