When in quarantine, make a mask

By: Mackenzie Vogt

The year 2020 has forced our hands into what is to be this year’s new fashion fad: masks. With the continuing of the coronavirus, people around the world are trying to do their part by preventing the spread.

Mask wearing has become more common and almost a social obligation. Some of our local stores, such as Walmarts, are displaying signs encouraging customers to wear masks. Menards took it a step further and won’t allow anyone inside who isn’t wearing a mask. So with this new essential clothing item, the next question becomes what type to wear.

N95 respirators and surgical masks are best left for healthcare providers, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the general public use cloth masks. Masks can be found online, in stores and perhaps most commonly from everyday items at home.

My family and I have made masks that are from the latter. My grandma, Evelyn Alvarado, first started making masks when schools and businesses shut down. She then made videos and sent them to my mom, Carmen Vogt, on how to make them. Vogt then Googled, Pinterested and YouTubed different ideas and strategies.

“The ones that I’ve made are pleated with the elastic,” Vogt said. “It’s hard to find the elastic right now so you can also use fabric as a tie. Sometimes the elastic bothers people anyways.”

Other tips and tricks that Vogt and Alvarado have found are that you can add a wire or a pipe cleaner around the nose so that the mask will stay in place. If you can’t find elastic, the ties can be made from ribbon or hair ties. Vogt also commented that the best material, as far as protection goes, is 100 percent cotton. This is due to the way the fabric is made. Its strands are tight together, a fact that the CDC confirms.

Senior Emma Smidt, an employee at Country House, an assisted living facility, talks about the possibility of mask-wearing becoming a fad.

“I‘ve already seen it happen at work and at the store with different materials. There are also different patterns. People have solid colors or stripes or flowers and also different styles of masks.”

If interested in making your own mask, the CDC has three different options to choose from on their website. They each depend on skill level as well as the materials you already have.

So as the end of quarantine approaches, and you begin re-entering society, will it be with or without your personalized mask?

*Photo by Mackenzie Vogt

In the news

By Mackenzie Vogt

On April 24, Bosselman Enterprises gave out free ethanol-based sanitizers to the businesses in the Grand Island community. They had 450 containers of both 1 and 2.5 gallons. By 9:30 a.m. they were gone.

Hall County has 15 times more coronavirus cases than the rest of Nebraska, as of Monday, April 27. Hall County now has a total of 876 cases and 20 deaths.

Annevar, a local festival held in Ravenna, has cancelled the event. This is the first time that has happened since WWII. Highlights of this five-day event would have included rides, parades and tractor pulls.

NebraskaLand National Bank launched a new website to thank frontline workers. They’ve invited the community to post stories and pictures about people in their community that have helped during the coronavirus to help spread awareness.

The Congressional Budget Office says that due to coronavirus aid, the recession will likely reach $3.7 trillion in debt this year.

President Trump has allowed governors to decide when to reopen their states. Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia planned to lift restrictions in April, despite the hesitancy Trump and other officials are showing.

Who would have thought senior skip day would last this long?

By: Mackenzie Vogt

On March 15, Northwest joined the surrounding districts in cancelling school for at least that coming week. Now a month later, it is known that students will not be returning to the normal definition of school. This is impacting the college admission requirements that seniors would normally be subjected to.

From changing due dates to scheduling virtual admitted student days, needless to say, high school seniors this year will have a different experience from seniors in the past. Lori Merritt, one of the counselors, confirms that fact.

“Usually, our office would be busy with seniors asking questions and getting clarification on how to submit things. Seniors need to be advocating for themselves and asking for help, even though things aren’t normal right now.”

Many colleges, though, are doing their best to work around these circumstances. The University of Nebraska, which includes Lincoln, Kearney and Omaha, has announced they will be offering free tuition to in-state undergraduate students with families making less than $60,000. Most other colleges are allowing high school seniors to make the decision to use either their seventh semester or current GPA.

Also, class ranking, ACT and SAT requirements are being waved at most colleges. Many have also decided to extend the due dates of applying for admission, submitting housing contracts and extending the acceptance of admission. Most colleges have even started to move orientation and tours online.

“Every college that I have been in contact with has been extremely lenient working with kids,” Merritt said. “As long as a student receives credit in the classes they are in they aren’t worried about the grade since most schools have gone to a pass/fail system. If a student doesn’t have an ACT, which is rare, many are allowing admission based on GPA and their school records.”

One of the bigger things to consider is the difference between low-income and high-income students. The closure of schools and beginnings of quarantines eliminates support systems. Students who might have been relying on their parents’ income or even their own to help pay for college may no longer have that luxury. Students will miss out on the support systems that high schools offer, such as teachers and counselors.

If any students have questions about college or school in general, they are encouraged to talk to the admission directors at their desired college or contact either Lori Merritt or Andrew Manhart. Counselors also want to emphasize the importance of students checking their emails for updates and information.

*Photo Obtained from the San Diego Community College District

A possible silver lining?

By: Mackenzie Vogt

The year 2020 began with the continuation of the Australian wildfires, the threat of WWIII and the release of pandemic: the coronavirus. As new statistics about this pandemic appear each day, the coronavirus is also seen impacting the environment.

Most of what the media is calling “improvement to the environment” is due to the decrease of carbon emission. China was the first nation to have a case of the coronavirus, so their quarantine restrictions began first. Since then, there has been an estimated reduction of 250 million tons of carbon emission in China, according to Benjamin Storrow in an article in Scientific America. As an extension to that, Martha Henriques in a BBC article says that the air quality in China was up 11.4 percent. Christopher McFadelen also supports this in Interesting Engineering by saying the pollution of air in China has dropped 10-30 percent.

There have also been other notable countries and areas that have experienced similar improvements. The pollution in New York City has gone down by 50 percent. Henriques highlights that a related cause could be that traffic is down, and McFadelen also supports this by saying transportation counts for 23 percent of global emission. In addition, McFadelen also talks about how the waters of Venice have never been clearer. Fish can now be seen. This is due to the grounding of water boats.

All these impacts of course are not due to the coronavirus directly but indirectly. The impacts are due to self-quarantines and travel restrictions that haven’t been this extensive since WWII. The restrictions that are in place to reduce the spread of disease are also impacting industries that can be linked to carbon emissions. Industries that have been impacted and also have an effect on carbon emissions are airports and the gasoline industry.

Experts at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research are also discussing the lasting impact that the pandemic will make on the future. They predict that carbon emission will go down a projected .3 percent globally. To put that in perspective, Storrow talks about how during the Great Recession (2008-2009), emission went down 1.3 percent due to the economy. After the economy restored itself, though, emissions then rose to 5 percent.

Carbon emission could bounce back after normalcy returns to daily lives. The when of that will help determine the impact on the environment, but also some believe that behavioral changes could happen. Behavioral changes occur when an outside force changes the way one lives their day-to-day life. So, due to the coronavirus, new daily routines may form, and even after the new routine isn’t necessary, it may stick.

For now though, the improvements to the environment may be a little bit of good in the bad.

*Photo Obtained from BBC

Mrs. Coe: A bittersweet departure

By: Mackenzie Vogt

As the end of the 2019-2020 school year approaches, an essential figure to Northwest’s music department, Cindy Coe, has also decided to close a chapter. Coe has made the decision to retire at the end of this school year.

Having been at Northwest for over 20 years, she held various job titles. Her love for music began at a young age with piano lessons in the third grade and continues to this day.

“What don’t I like about music? I mean I turn the radio on in the morning and listen to the same things that you guys listen to on the way over here,” Coe said.

Coe’s career at Northwest started as an hourly job as an accompanist. That eventually turned into the two contracts she now has: one as a music teacher and the other to accompany the choir on the piano.

Jeff Vyhlidal, the current vocal music teacher who co-teaches with Coe, recalls how she has been an essential part of his welcome here. Coe has been a great team member to Vyhiladal, as this was his first year at Northwest

“[She has] really helped me gain an insight to how things have worked here in the past,” Vyhlidal said. “It helps me in deciding what to do moving forward.”

Coe’s presence also reaches out to touch the lives of her students as well. Junior Rylie McNelis, a student of Coe’s, elaborates on that fact.

“I’m gonna miss Mrs. Coe a lot, but I think that it’s good for her. She’s just a great person, and I’m excited to see where the Lord leads her.”

Coe explained that retirement was an unexpected decision, but ended up being something she wanted. With her husband also retiring at the end of the year, she’s looking most forward to having a less busy schedule. Coe also talked about the mixed emotions she had when announcing her retirement to her students.

“When I first told the kids it was hard, and I don’t know why it just kind of hit me,” Coe said. “I was excited to tell them, and I was happy about it, and then the tears started falling. There were both sides.”

Coe wanted to end on the note that she isn’t retiring due to any animosity towards the new changes to Northwest this past year. She also wanted to tell Vikings to “be good people. I think we should try to do our best, always.”

*Photo Courtesy of Tally Creative