Three new Coronavirus cases announced locally

Back on June 14, the Illinois Department of Public Health listed six confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in St. Joseph. Yesterday, that number has increased from a total of nine last week to 12.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, so far 727 tests have been performed on residents from the community.

There were no other new cases identified in the other communities The Sentinel serves. The CUPHD reports there has been one case in Philo, nine in Tolono and one in Sidney. No confirmed cases have been detected in the communities of Ogden and Royal.

Out of the 522 test performed on Tolono residents, 513 have come back negative. The IDPH does not provide data for communities, which is done by zip code, with an infection rate below five cases.

As of July 1, Champaign County has logged 34,791 tests with just 890 of them testing positive. Thanks in part to a private party, described as an unofficial prom for high school students, the CUPHD is reporting a rise to 117 active cases mirroring increases nationwide as states across the nation remove restrictions meant to control the spread of the Coronavirus.

Ninety-nine residents from Champaign County have contracted the pathogen and declared recovered in the past 18 days. More than 760 people have tested positive and recovered from the viral infection since the health district providing number to the public.

There have been 12 deaths, including one by a 30 year-old resident with no underlying health condition, attributed to the viral infection since the start of the pandemic locally in March. Currently, seven individuals are under hospital care battling the disease.

COVID-19 has a wide range of symptoms. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus mainly as a cough and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Other symptoms include:

Fever or chills

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

If you or a family member has any of the following symptoms, the CDC recommends that you seek medical attention immediately. Those symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse or have bluish lips or face.

People who have serious underlying medical conditions and older Americans may be at higher risk for contracting serious complications from COVID-19. The CDC has said those at high risk include:

Anyone 65 years of age and older

Older adults who live in a nursing home or long-term care facilities

Women who are pregnant

Individuals with Chronic lung disease or asthma, congestive heart failure or coronary artery disease, diabetes or neurologic conditions that weaken the ability to cough.

People with weakened immune systems, those who have undergone chemotherapy radiation for cancer currently or in recent past, people who have Sickle Cell Anemia, anyone with chronic kidney diseases requiring dialysis and those diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

Also included are individuals who without a spleen or a spleen that doesn’t function correctly or people who are extremely obese with a body mass index (BMI) great than or equal to 40.

Free testing is available at Marketplace Mall at the State’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing site. A doctor’s referral, code, or appointment is not needed. Testing is available for anyone from 8am to 4pm, 7 days a week while daily supplies last. For more information call the COVID-19 HOTLINE at (217) 239-7877.

Living on unemployment cannot be a long-term lifestyle

By Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Americans hope they will never be bullied by a police officer. A man or woman with a badge and a gun can be an intimidating figure. If a cop pulls you over and bullies you, what can you do? Americans are at the mercy of bad cops.

Who hasn't been afraid of a police officer at one time or another? Police reform is obviously needed in America.

Black people or any people should never have to live in fear of a police officer who wants to prove that he or she has authority. We need good police officers who will protect us and help us. I believe the majority of officers are good people. However, this is no excuse to allow the bad ones to be out in uniform menacing anyone.

Americans hope they can work. I recently saw too many stores closed or boarded up in Cleveland, Ohio.

While visiting in the city I had hoped to stay at one hotel but learned this entire huge hotel has been totally closed due to the pandemic but hopes to reopen in August. These types of closures and boarded up businesses are good for no one.

Americans know that living on unemployment cannot be a long-term lifestyle. Unemployment runs out.

Typically, Americans can make more money working but the extra federal boost has been a major help to Americans.

Americans mentally feel better and make more money when they are working jobs and bringing home a paycheck. While Covid-19 has made it difficult for us, we must embrace all the necessary precautions and safety measures so we might ensure keeping our country working.

Americans hope for a cure to Covid-19.

Our present-day Americans have never faced anything like this before. America and the world have faced pandemics in the past but we have been fortunate to this point. Our time has come now to live through, survive and overcome this virus that has taken so many hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. We must support and pray for those who are working so hard for a cure.

Americans hope to get our lives back. We miss social gatherings. We miss going to our places of worship.

Only so much can be done at home for so long. Working at home, watching worship at home and doing everything at home is not all that much fun for many Americans. Some thought it would be great to do everything from home but many have gotten tired of never leaving the house. Many Americans will welcome the opportunity to go back to work, to church and the local gathering spots.

As we celebrate our independence, we look to God, pray for our leaders and have hope that we all will grasp and stand firm on this truth from our Declaration of Independence, "that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

May we each hold to and extend this hope to every American.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of PhotoNews Media. We welcome comments and views from our readers.

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St. Joseph-Ogden grad lands AD job at Salt Fork

In 2011, Dustin Dees decided to further his education to obtain a Master’s in Education Administration from Eastern Illinois University. The move paid off last month when the 2004 St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate assumed the role of Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at Catlin High School last month.

Before moving into his administrative role at the high school and as AD, Dees was a physical education teacher and coach at Tuscola High School.

"I felt like it would open the door for future opportunities to work with students, teachers, and coaches in an educational leaders role," he said. "I am grateful for all my experiences as a teacher and coach to this point. I owe a lot to some great communities and school systems such as Decatur, Monticello, Bismarck - Henning, and Tuscola. These places provided me with the experience I needed to pursue my dream of working in education administration."

He is grateful for the opportunities and the individuals who mentored him leading him to land his position at the Vermilion County school. He counts himself lucky to have been able to coach basketball, track & field, and cross country in several great towns, with some great coaches, and more importantly, with several programs that had great student-athletes.

"I owe a lot to great high school head coaches and athletic directors such as Coach Mike Stephens at Bismarck-Henning, Coach Matt Franks when he was at Tuscola, Coach Dave Beery at Monticello, Ryan Hornaday, Tuscola’s AD, and Randy Moss when he was the AD at Monticello," he pointed out. "Being around coaches and athletic directors like these helped me learn what great coaching and leadership look like on a daily basis."

Senior Dustin Dees celebrates a touchdown by running back Daniel Widick during SJO's Week 2 road playoff game against Carlinville. When asked what did he remember about the 2003 game he wrote: "I remember that game being a thriller! We were down early and made a huge comeback to win 19-14! If I remember correctly Carlinville had been ranked in the 4A polls that year and dropped down to 3A for the playoffs. They were really good that year and had a better seed than us. Answering the bell and winning that game was huge." The Spartans indeed defeated the Cavaliers, 19-14.

The most rewarding part of coaching for the former Spartan who played football and basketball at SJO, is watching kids improve.

"I feel like as a coach it’s always a personal goal each meeting with your team for each athlete to get better at something," he explained. "That may not always mean improvement in the sport you are coaching, the reward for me extends into witnessing athletes become better teammates, improving work ethic, and building strong character."

His fondest memories from high school was playing four years of Spartan football.

"There was always such a buzz around our football program. There was just something about the fall at SJO and high school football that gives me goosebumps thinking about it," he recounted. "When I reflect on those days I think about how lucky I was to learn from the great coaches I had like Dick Duval, Brad Allen, and Bob Glazier."

Off the gridiron, Dees said the quality of his education at SJO was invaluable.

"I also have great memories of having some of the best teachers," he add. "I always felt like we had extremely high quality teachers at SJO, many of who were also coaches, and that made going to school a lot of fun."

While at Tuscola, Dees helped obtain $5,000 matching grant with Tuscola CUSD #301 and the Tuscola Rotary to add "POLAR" heart rate tracking technology for the classroom. He also developed a dynamic physical education curriculum for kindergarten age students through the fourth grade and he led the way in the creation of a school wide wellness committee. He also created a school Health and Wellness Fundraiser called "Competing for Wellness".

Prior to taking teaching and coaching responsibilities at Tuscola High School, Dees spent two years in the Bismarck-Henning school district where he coached junior high basketball and track. He also developed a junior high "Student learning outcomes" for physical education program and built district approved Student Growth Assessment program.

Outsiders might look at his job as athletic director and assume that scheduling games and managing travel for teams under his umbrella might be one of the biggest challenges he will face in the new job, especially as the Vermilion Valley Conference adds three new programs after the break up of the Sangamon Valley Conference at the end of the coming school year. Dees said navigating the uncertainties as well as maintaining a safe athletic environment during the Coronavirus pandemic might be tougher.

"Scheduling with the new VVC should go pretty smoothly since the conference AD’s work well together," he said. "The challenge I see for next year will be accommodating and changing some of the things that we do for COVID-19."