I lost track of what day it was this past week and could have sworn Saturday was Friday. I know some folks took time to work outside, but it was a tad bit too chilly for me. I'm getting a little stir crazy and getting outside would help. The forecast lists several days of April showers ahead, so I donât even expect to get the yard mowed.
The day Frontier Communications filed bankruptcy, we lost our long-distance service again. We may live in Gilmer, but we're on the 354 exchange, so it's quite frustrating to not be able to call anyone in 462, or my mother in Ohio, or family in Virginia (and they can't call us). Of course, in their press release announcing their bankruptcy filing, Frontier noted that customers would not see any change in the level of our service â and we haven't. What was spotty and unreliable before is still spotty and unreliable. With all the rain coming, we're likely to lose service again.
I have little to add to my complaint about the phones and the weather because quarantine life has grown boring. I have been reading, writing, binge-watching television, adding rhinestones to a dress I had planned to wear to an event that has not yet been canceled. The event is in late June, so it's hard to say if it will be held or rescheduled. All the ads on my Facebook and Instagram feeds are for face masks. I expect masks will become a regular part of our fashion in the future.
Am I ready for life to get going again? Of course. Do I think we should get the rat race going again? Of course not. Not yet. West Virginia is in the peak of our curve, now is not the time to re-open the flood gates. Of course, if this is to continue for weeks yet to come, I've got to find some new projects, something I haven't already done that will pass the time â especially during these spring rains.
Normantown Historical Community Center's food pantry on April 10th included 116 senior boxes divided by two because folks got April and May boxes and the emergency box count was 99. So food was distributed to 58 plus 99 for a count of 157 families including 326 family members.
Kroger Company granted NHCC $2000 for food and maintenance and they have a promise of additional money from one of their previous grantors. Parkersburg Area Community Foundation donated $1,000 to purchase food for the food pantry to meet increased demand in the Gilmer County community.
Donations to NHCC can be made online at https://nhccwv.com/donation or mailed to NHCC, 3031 Hackers Creek Road, Jane Lew 26378, c/o Margaret. Donkey Basketball has been rescheduled for October 17th, 2020.
The Normantown School Alumni Association Reunion has been canceled. They are currently looking at Labor Day Weekend, Saturday, September 5, 2020, as a possible reschedule date even though there is no real assurance at this time that will be possible. It will be appreciated very much if you could remit your Scholarship Fund contribution now so that the program can continue granting its award on schedule rather than waiting till September or later. For more information, contact Gary Smith.
If you have any 25267 area news you would like to share or any personal messages you want to be posted in local media, send an email to hayesminney@gmail.com or leave a message on our machine at 304-354-9132. I also have a seasonal email newsletter that includes links to this column online. You can subscribe at tinyurl.com/two-2020
Lisa Hayes-Minney is an author, teacher, librarian, and artisanal publisher. For more information about her workshops, services, and books visit http://www.lhayesminney.net | 
