Friday the 13th of March brought many changes within our Grange community. As schools closed for the weekend emails went out to school employees to prepare for all classes and school activities in Kings County to be cancelled until April 14th. Soon afterward word came from schools in the city of Fresno confirming they too would be closed. Through the weekend additional school districts announced closures that closely aligned to the existing timeline. Churches reported that they would be moving to televised services where possible and most were closing until after Easter. On Sunday. California Governor Newsom, requested anyone 65 years of age and older to self-quarantine, all bars, breweries, and winery tasting rooms to close, and for restaurants to cut their in-house dining seating in half. Meetings of 50 or more people were limited and everyone was asked to social distance about 6 feet apart.

While this was all happening we also saw a change in the weather. Gray clouds started gathering and the winter storm door was finally opened. Snow is falling again in the Sierra Nevada range at about 5,000 ft. elevation. Rain has been steadily falling across the valley. This is definitely something to celebrate for agriculture. Those of us who are school employees are glad we do not need to “enjoy” a rainy day schedule.

Today we made the decision to cancel our regular meeting. With the change in weather, recommendations for older members, and general guidelines recommending not to gather in groups of more than 10, we felt it was appropriate to stay home this evening.

One of the most important pieces of information to keep in mind is if we all abide by the guidelines, recommendations, and suggestions and the havoc anticipated does not happen we will not know if we did the right thing, however if we do not follow the recommendations and the worst comes to pass, we will know that we should have followed the advice.

Please use common sense; stay home if you can; share reliable information; watch over those who are at risk; and as they said on TV, “Be safe out there.”