2020 was full of so many things I never thought I’d see:
New community room offered by WPOA
The Wintergreen community has an attractive, well-appointed community meeting room with a full kitchen in the Wintergreen Property Owners Association’s office building at the base of Wintergreen mountain. The room can seat 10 to 15 people. Learn more here
Dunlop Public Safety Plaza at Tuckahoe Clubhouse
The plaza honors those in the Wintergreen community who have earned the designation of “life member” of either Wintergreen Rescue or Wintergreen Fire. Additionally, honored in the plaza are employees of Wintergreen Police and Wintergreen Fire & Rescue who have dedicated over ten years of their career to Wintergreen.
Every home should have a Knox Box
Wintergreen Fire Department sells and installs Knox Box key boxes for both residential and commercial properties at Wintergreen. With a Knox Box installed the Fire Department can gain access to the property without having to cause damage through forcible entry. Once installed, keys and alarm codes to the property are placed inside the UL-tested secure enclosure, with only Wintergreen Fire Department having access to the keys. Learn more here
Community Wide Speed Limit is 25
See the entire 2020 WPOA annual meeting
COVID-19 Update: Expect the Number of Cases Here to Rise
from Chief Curtis Sheets, Wintergreen Fire & Rescue
There has been a 36% increase in COVID-19 cases within Nelson County this week. Most of the additional cases have been discovered within the past 48 hours.
as of 08/07/2020
USA Cases - 4,957,653
USA Deaths - 161,682
Virginia Cases - 99,189
Virginia Deaths - 2,322
Nelson Cases - 45
Nelson Deaths - 0
The increase is troubling and sadly we know that one of our patients from earlier this week is listed in "critical condition."
While I don't want to do or say anything which would cause people to dial back their protective measures, I feel it is important that Wintergreen residents know where these cases are occurring.
All cases we have handled this week have been traced back to three facilities which are all located in the southern part of the county. A social club, a church, and a senior living facility are all dealing with outbreaks.
Please continue the good work regarding social distancing. If you should happen to encounter a person without a mask please don't confront them. Simply keep your distance.
Is the situation bad enough that you should stay home? No. Are you safer at home? Yes.
The Virginia hospitalization rate is approximately 9% and the mortality rate is approximately 2.4%. These numbers are updated daily and posted on our website’s homepage at wtgfireresq.org at the bottom of the page.
Virginia is the first state in the nation to launch a COVID-19 tracker application for smartphones. You may download it by searching for "COVIDWISE." Essentially the app allows your phone to archive every person who moves within Bluetooth range who also have the COVIDWISE app installed. Once a person tests positive, they are given a PIN to enter in the tracker. The PIN protects their identity and notifies all persons in the COVIDWISE app who have been in contact with the positive patient.
COVIDWISE could be a great tool, but I caution all users against a false sense of security. For COVIDWISE to be completely accurate three things would have to be true;
1) everyone must have a smartphone,
2) Bluetooth ranges on all participating phones need to be robust, and
3) all smartphone operators would need to feel a moral obligation to activate COVIDWISE.
Of course, none of these three things will ever be absolute. The United States has the world’s largest caseload and conventional tracing methods can’t keep up. COVIDWISE could help fill the void.
If at any point you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me at csheets@wtgfireresq.org.
Stay safe!
Special rules at property owners' swimming pools are working
About the Auxiliary Volunteers of our Fire Department
New guide about bears for homeowners, vacationers, and visitors
Visit BearWise.org to learn what to do if a black bear approaches, charges or follows you.