Life in Talbot County has slowed to a crawl under Gov. Larry Hogan’s stay-at-home order issued Monday and officials encourage residents to be patient and vigilant.
“Yesterday was a difficult day as the governor issued his order for non-essential workers to stay home,” said Talbot County Council President Corey Pack. “We are asking people to take this seriously and comply with the governor’s directive. We are not willing to sacrifice even one more life to this infectious disease.”
The Emergency Operations Center remains activated to coordinate support activities and to provide regular informal updates as we move through the COVID19 crisis.
“We are hopeful that being in a rural area will spare us,” said Clay Stamp, Talbot County emergency services director. “But we must recognize that, without everyone adhering to the state and local recommendations, we could see clusters of persons being infected.”
“To those who speak against the recommendations, I would remind them that real people all over this country are being impacted and their efforts to downplay the threat only serves to potentially place people in harm’s way,” he said. “Again, this is not a drill.”
Meal Distribution
New St. John’s United Methodist Church, 9123 Tilghman Island Road, Wittman, MD will be holding a Pop-up Food Pantry every Friday, starting this Friday 4/4/20 from 10 am-12 pm. The church also maintains an unmanned food pantry outside that offers non-perishables 24/7 to families in need.
Easton Utilities
Easton Utilities understands the importance of supporting our community efforts during this unprecedented time. While we continue to provide the essential services our customers rely on every day, we want to follow the recommendations of federal, state and local agencies to protect the health of the public and our employees.
In addition to the recommended precautions we are currently following, we closed the Drive-Thru yesterday. Below please find our current operational status as of March 30, 2020:
The Customer Service Center, Drive-Thru and Lobby are closed. Customers are encouraged to utilize online bill pay, phone or mail for transactions. Please contact our Customer Service Representative at 410-822-6110 if assistance is needed to set up an online account.
Employees are no longer entering customer homes unless it’s an emergency. For Easton Velocity issues (internet, cable, phone), technicians will work with the customer remotely to troubleshoot problems.
Free Drive-Up Hotspots are available for people to perform essential functions. The wifi name is EU-Public and no password is required. Locations are:
• Talbottown Shopping Center main parking lot (closest to the intersection of Washington and Harrison Streets). Available 24/7.
• Idlewild Park parking lot (closest to basketball courts). Open during daylight hours only.
• Moton Park parking lot (closest to park entrance). Open during daylight hours only.
• Library parking lot (closest to Federal Street). Available 24/7.
As always, we remain flexible and willing to work with customers facing financial hardships during this time. We will continuously monitor and update our policies to ensure we are providing the best possible service to our customers while maintaining the safety of all concerned.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact customer service at 410-822-6110.
Talbot County Library
As the AARP Tax Aide service held at library branches has been cancelled for the season, users of that service may want to use the IRS’s Free File to get their taxes done. IRS Free File provides free tax preparation and e-filing online for those making $69,000 or less in 2019. If you made more than $69,000, you can still fill out and submit your federal taxes online.
Visit https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free for more information.
Talbot County Public Schools
Distance Learning
Beginning Monday, April 6, TCPS will move to a distance learning model in which teachers will be engaging with their students virtually. In order to facilitate this, we have designated the week of March 30-April 3 as a transition week to prepare our teachers for this new model.
We are providing our teachers with professional development for using technology for virtual learning, and providing them with time to develop learning activities that can be supported through our technology.
We will be distributing iPads to elementary students at their schools on Thursday, April 2 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and on Friday, April 3 from 8:00 a.m. to noon. TCPS recognizes that not all of our families have access to reliable internet connectivity, so we are also planning for how we can best meet the needs of all students.
Food Distribution for Students
Based on the Governor’s Stay at Home Directive issued by Executive Order on March 30, 2020, TCPS meal distribution for children ages 2-18 will move to PICK-UP ONLY. Beginning Tuesday March 31, meal pick-up will CONTINUE AT THE FOLLOWING SITES ONLY on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9-11 a.m.:
• Chapel District Elementary
• Easton Middle
• Easton Elementary-Dobson
• St. Michaels Middle High
• Tilghman Elementary
• White Marsh Elementary
The package that is distributed on Tuesday will include breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Friday package will include breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack for Friday and Monday along with the CarePacks weekend food bag.
Where to Find More Information
• CDC COVID-2019 Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• Talbot County COVID-19 Information www.talbotcovid19.org
• Shore Regional Health COVID Information https://www.umms.org/shore/patients-visitors/coronavirus
• Maryland Department of Health Website: https://health.maryland.gov/pages/home.aspx
• Talbot County Health Department Website: https://health.maryland.gov/talbotcounty/Pages/home.aspx
• Talbot County Health Department Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalbotHealthMaryland/
• Talbot County Department of Emergency Services Website: https://www.talbotdes.org/default.asp
• Talbot County Department of Emergency Services Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talbotdes
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