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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2020)
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Spanish golf courses help in COVID-19 fight By Tia Duerrmeyer Correspondent BY KATHY DEGGENDORFER Editor9s note: Former S i s t e r s re s i d e n t a n d N u g g e t c o r re s p o n d e n t Tia Duerrmeyer shares a COVID-19 update from her home in the Costa del Sol area of Spain. In her com- munity private and public sectors are working together to fight the spread of the coronavirus by cleaning and disinfecting local streets, parking lots, and community areas. Tia submits the very simple, grassroots idea with the hope that it might spread beyond Spain9s borders. Atalaya Golf & Country Club is the first golf facility in Spain to offer its machin- ery and a staff member to clean and disinfect the streets and parking areas nearby its two golf courses. The cam- paign is spearheaded by Atalaya9s Director General Andrés Sánchez, who is encouraging other courses throughout Spain to join the project. Working in partnership with the municipality of Benahavis, Atalaya9s <clean and disinfect= initiative went into effect on Monday morn- ing March 23. The streets of La Alquería Villas, Atalaya Hills and parts of the El Paraiso subdivision were sanitized. Agronimer Golf of Marbella, under the direction of David Fernández, him- self an Atalaya member, is providing a second fumiga- tor and operator to work in conjunction with Atalaya to carry out the necessary work. Sterilizing products and diesel for the equip- ment are being provided by the Benahavis city coun- cil, allowing the service to be provided to all free of cost. This cooperative effort exemplifies how public and private partnerships are able to collaborate to offer vital community services in times of need. Sánchez has asked the Andalusian Golf Federation to encourage clubs through- out Andalucía to participate. He said, <I spoke with the Andalusian Golf Federation to organize all golf clubs of Andalucía to help with their fumigation machinery, and the federation has already posted an email to all the courses of Andalucía to take the example of Atalaya Golf.= The concept is very simple. Golf facilities are being asked to provide their machinery and personnel free of charge to clean and disinfect the streets of areas located near their individual clubs. <At the initiative of Atalaya, Benahavís will be the first municipality in which this campaign is launched, but surely there are many more municipali- ties that will be delighted to have this help,= said Maria Rosa Giménez de la Riva, spokeswoman for the golf federation. <That is why, from the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, we encour- age all of you to contact your municipalities to transfer this proposal to them. The golf sector will be doing its bit to fight the virus.= With all golf courses closed during the cur- rent lockdown, which now has been extended until May 9, other golf clubs are quickly falling in line behind Atalaya. They are welcoming the opportunity to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 virus. <We will try to make the whole initiative a great suc- cess,= said Sánchez. LETTERS Continued from page 2 regarding this pandemic and thereby risk infecting others, including him and his family? Without any hint he recognizes the irony, he calls my criticism <left-wing talk- ing points= and states that his version of <Conservative values&are values that all citizens should support regardless of politi- cal affiliation.= He ends with <We are all in this together.= That was exactly my point: Suggesting that we can ignore science and do whatever we want in this time of pandemic is dangerous talk. Gretchen Honen chastises me for using the phrase <right-wing talking points.= See above. She apparently missed most of my let- ter that specifically rebutted Mr. Donohue9s points as contrary to current medical science and therefore dangerous to us and to others. I also highlighted his view that up to <a few million= preventable deaths may be a price we have to pay <for the needs of the many.= I am not willing to pay that price. Are you? Michael Wells s s s To the Editor: Some of your readers may have read < The Eyes Of Darkness= by Dean Koontz (1981). It was a very pricey required reading in a creative writing class I had at California Lutheran University. (My professor said it was an example of how a bad author could 15 eventually write something good). Toward the end of the book, Koontz refers to a virus that originates in Wuhan, China, that had similar characteristics to COVID- 19. His story explains how the virus infected millions of people around the world, causing many deaths, and went away as suddenly as it appeared in the world, only to mutate and resurface 10 years later with a vengeance. I wouldn9t go so far as to say Koontz was the <Nostradamus= of the 1980s, but histori- cally, it is an amazing prediction. On social media recently, I noticed an increase in people referring to this virus as not that serious, often referencing the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2002 that also originated in bats spread to 26 coun- tries, and had a kill ratio of 10 percent. MERS, (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) 2012, may have originated in Saudi Arabia from bats, to camels, then humans. There were two cases in the US, with both surviving. MERS was said to have had a kill ratio of 34 percent. While it is true patients have been surviv- ing COVID-19 infection, I am concerned with people being too complacent, too early. I per- sonally think our numbers are down because we have been cautious and practicing social distancing. The newest, similar to, but, mutated virus that infected several children recently is alarming. I am very optimistic that science will be able to create a safe vaccine. It is not an easy <Dr. Kildare= or <Ben Casey= fix, and it9s all better (yes, that dates me!) Be safe. Bill Anttila Serving Sisters Since 1976 Thank you, Sisters, for your support. Fika loves serving you! Phone orders for coffee, pastries, and boxed lunch takeout welcome. 541-588-0311 201 E. Sun Ranch Dr., Mon-Sat 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. g on n i o g t e g Need to jects? We’ve o spring pr ing you need! th y r e v e t o FREE g Local Delivery Lumber • Hardware • Paint Fencing & Decking • Doors & Windows ows Hours: M-F 8 to 5, Sat. 8 to 4:30, Closed Sundays 440 N. Pine St. • 541-549-8141 • www.hoyts.net