Once again, the Calling Around Covington column will mostly highlight the cancelled and postponed events of our town, with some optimism for future rescheduling. This may be my longest column ever, at the time when nothing much is going on in our village. But it was supposed to be a very busy spring, and some events will be pushed into summer. Read on to find out more.
One event that is cancelled, and won’t be rescheduled this year for seasonal and timing reasons, is the Community Easter Egg Hunt. Due to the social distancing guidelines set up by our state and federal government, Fields of Grace Worship Center has regretfully decided to cancel the Community Easter Egg Hunt for this year. The hunt was to be held at the Covington Park this coming Saturday, April 4. However, Fields of Grace looks forward to seeing everyone at next year’s hunt in 2021. An Easter Egg Hunt in June just doesn’t seem appropriate!
In this unsettling time, the Covington Outreach Association (COA) feels it is very important to share with the public that they are reaching out to the community to offer help with food for families in Covington. The Covington Outreach Association (COA) held a grocery disbursement to Covington families in the 45318 zip code back on March 27. If you need extra help because of a job furlough or layoff, please call the COA at (937) 473-2415. Please let the phone ring more than four times, to allow it to forward to the COA. While the Church of the Brethren is temporarily closed, Covington Outreach remains available for food. Their guidelines have also been softened through this unique time. They are allowing families to come more frequently than once a month, and for the safety of all, food will be pre-bagged. They are here to help our community, and ask everyone to please stay safe.
The fish fries at St. Teresa Catholic Church have been cancelled for the remainder of Lent. The crowds this year were huge, probably because it is the most delicious fish around. Due to the high demand, at least one fish fry will likely be held in the late spring or early summer. So keep your eyes glued to this column, so you won’t miss this delicious post-Lenten opportunity. Also postponed was the 55th Annual Covington Pancake Day, put on by the Optimist and Kiwanis clubs. Sponsors, please save your tickets! Pancake Day will hopefully be rescheduled, because the supplies are on ice, and pancakes are ready to be flipped, sausage is ready to be grilled, and syrup is itching to be poured out of Aunt Jemima’s voluptuous figure. Again, keep looking to this column for future information. I know all community groups look forward to bigger-than-usual community turnouts after all this staying home is done!
Postponed as well is the Eric Flory P.L.U.S. 5K Run and Walk. All proceeds of this event benefit the Covington Fifth and Sixth Grade Overnighter event. The 5K will likely take place at a future date, as it is a fundraiser for the annual Overnighter. The J.R. Clarke Public Library closed for the foreseeable future after business on Wednesday, March 18. However, the public may always contact the Library at 473-2226 and ask questions while closed. There is very limited staff working in the library, so calls will be returned in a timely manner, probably every 2-3 days. Students, please don’t forget that the Library’s WiFi is ‘on’ all the time, 24/7. One may access the WiFi from outside the building, and students may work in their parents’ cars to get all their distance learning lessons completed.
In other cancellation news, the annual Covington Alumni Banquet, scheduled for Saturday, June 6, will not be held this year. Although disappointing, with the uncertainty of this virus, and when groups will be permitted and businesses back up and running, it is for the best. Unfortunately, a large alumni banquet obviously requires preparation time by the catering company, travel arrangements for folks coming into town, and planning time by the dedicated volunteer alumni committee. Even if gatherings would be permitted by June 6, there is just too much uncertainty in the next months to be able to plan ahead for an event this large. And it still simply may not be a good idea to gather that many, even by that point in the calendar. The 2021 Alumni Banquet will be held on Saturday, June 5, 2021. The Alumni Committee looks forward to seeing everyone there.
And I saved the good news for last, because this event isn’t cancelled! It’s just scaled back a bit, and this scaled-down event is the Community Blood Drive on Monday, April 20. Due to the current closure of the Covington Eagles Aerie, the blood drive will be held in the CBC’s bloodmobile in the parking lot to the west of the Eagles. This means that there will be no apheresis machines on site, so no platelet or plasma donations will be taken. Those donors will be notified of a cancelled appointment, but may certainly reschedule to give whole blood. The drive will still run from 1-7 p.m. on that Monday. The hospitals really need blood at this time, so please make a point to still come and give whole blood. Platelet and plasma donors may want to find another local drive still fully open, and stay on schedule. Your donation is very needed at this point in time. Since I reported on everything cancelled this week, keep your eyes posted for my next column in two weeks. It will probably be a blank space, or else the story of my childhood or something. That’s guaranteed to be scintillating.
