Coronavirus/COVID-19
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Here’s the most recent Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page:
Cases in Jeffco – Thurs: 16,498 | Mon: 18,197 (+1699)
Deaths in Jeffco – Thurs: 405 | Mon: 425 (+20)
Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco – Thurs: 1,063 | Mon: 1,126 (currently 172) (+63)
Recovered – Thurs: 11,565 | Mon: 13,173 (+1608)
Known Cases in Golden – Thurs: 564 | Mon: 644 (+80)
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing
School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Masks are required.
City and County fire restrictions | Sign up for exposure notifications.
7:30AM Coffee Connections with the Golden Chamber
10:15AM Toddler Time with the Library
2PM History in the Baking: Thanksgiving Traditions with the Golden History Museum
6PM Mobility & Transportation Advisory Board Meeting
Members of the Planning Commission will join MTAB members to discuss the bicycle and pedestrian aspects of the Transportation Master Plan. MTAB will also discuss a traffic calming ordinance.
Help Golden Families
Want to help some Golden families with holiday shopping needs? Consider contributing a toy (or two) to The Miracle Shop. Here’s how their website describes their process:
The Miracle Shop, a project of the Rotary Club of Golden, is an annual holiday popup store in Golden, Colorado. This store allows financially struggling parents the ability to shop for new and quality toys at garage sale prices. In fact, each shopper decides what he/she can afford to pay….
The Miracle Shop has been hugely successful. Adjusted pricing allows a population of underserved adults to purchase items they normally wouldn’t be able to afford, and more importantly, it creates dignity. There is no handout but, instead, a varied shopping experience. Popularity has grown, evidence that this works. Learn more….
Rotarians will be stationed in Parfet Park on Saturday, December 5th, from 10AM-4PM to collect toy contributions.
News for Golden Schools and Non-Profits
The Golden Civic Foundation is now accepting grant applications from Golden-based schools and non-profits for their 2021 grant distribution. Applications are due by December 31st. Learn more and apply….
Golden History Moment
In 1955, Golden parents were relieved and excited: an effective vaccine had finally been developed to prevent infantile paralysis (polio). Mass immunizations of school children were scheduled, beginning with 5-9 year olds. On April 26, 1955, 320 Golden kids were immunized at the Central School (later called Mitchell Elementary). The Salk vaccine required a series of 3 shots, and drug companies struggled to keep up with the demand.
Councilor Paul Haseman remembers being part of an early test group, as a 4th grader in 1955:
“Today there are hopeful celebrations pending for several promising Covid vaccines to prevent the disease. The quick time line for their development – nine months – often draws comparisons to other vaccines such as the Salk polio vaccine, whose development took Jonas Salk over two years. But that polio vaccine like the promising Covid vaccine needed to be tested and that’s where this story starts.
“In early 1955, the Salk polio vaccine was nearly ready for mass use to overcome this terrible disease. Where better to test the vaccine than at an elementary school on an Army base – Ft Belvoir, VA, just short miles from the National Institute of Health outside Washington, D.C. And the chosen grade for this final “beta” trial was the Fourth Grade . . . my grade. The doctors, of course, did not consult with us fourth graders but most likely consultations were had with our parents. However, all of us in Miss Deems’ class had no idea until we were lined up in the hall and proceeded single file to the principal’s office. There we were told for the first time that we were all going to get shots. OH!! But, no howling and wailing. After all we were all Army brats and did what we were told. So, easy-peasy we went in the one door, got a shot in the arm and then out the “back” door into the hallway. But there’s more . . .
“Our good behavior was rewarded by a lollipop – a big lollipop. So, as I stood in the hallway, I said to myself, “One shot, one lollipop. Two shots, two lollipops.” Back in line goes I and sure enough, no one noticed and I had my other lollipop. Back to class we went and I could not keep from flashing my two lollipops leading Anna Belle (a wonderful singer) to rat me out to Miss Deems. She came over to me with a scowl and asked how I got two lollipops and I said, “Well, I got two shots, so I got two lollipops.”
Rut roh! I was frog-marched in Miss Deems firm grip back to the principal’s office. The principal slapped his forehead in dismay and three doctors in white coats entered into animated conversations as they did rapid calculations on their slide rules (no hand calculators in 1955). I was placed in solitary confinement in the library and, you guessed it, they called my mother. Oh, no! Anything but that! Soon the library door flew open and there she was, hands on hips with her forbidding “mother stare.”
“Apparently, her entrance was preceded by dialog with the doctors, who told her to “keep an eye on things.” Needless to say, I was whisked home and sent to my room. That evening, I overheard her relate to my father her strongly worded dialog with the doctors, indicating that future trials should involve checking the names of the injectees. Oh, and I got to keep both lollipops.
“Polio was conquered in the US by Jonas Salk and later by Albert Sabin’s oral vaccine. Rotary International invests millions each year as their primary project to eradicate polio in the last two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
