EVANSTON — As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in communities around the world, the challenges facing individuals, organizations and businesses are many. Businesses and organizations are being forced to change their service models to remain open, while families are learning to deal with social distancing and school closures.

Nonprofit and government organizations

Local government and nonprofit organizations have largely closed their doors to the general public, remaining open through appointment only or via email, phone or regular mail. The City of Evanston, Town of Lyman, Town of Mountain View and Town of Bear River have all closed their offices, as have the Uinta County Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor, Fair Office, Planning and Zoning Office and Human Services Office. The Uinta County Clerk of District Court and Public Health and Attorney’s office will remain open, but request individuals make a prior appointment. In addition, the Wyoming Supreme Court has ordered suspension of all in-person court proceedings, except in certain circumstances, and has encouraged the use of video or telephone conferencing.

The Uinta County Library is remaining open; however, staff request visitors refrain from coming in groups and avoid visiting the library when sick. The library is also offering curbside pickup of checked-out items. Call ahead to request items at (307) 783-0480.

The Wyoming Department of Education announced this week that school districts that have suspended school based on the recommendations of Governor Mark Gordon and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow will not need to make up the lost time when school is eventually able to resume. Meanwhile, Uinta County School District No. 1 is continuing to provide free meals to students from 8:30-10 a.m. at Evanston and Davis Middle Schools, Horizon High School, and North and Clark Elementary Schools. Take-out breakfast and bag lunches are available via drive-through service.

Bridger Valley Electric and GT Nix Construction have announced a partnership to provide free high-speed internet access for 60 days to families with students out of school who do not already have home access.

Western Wyoming Community College has suspended in-person classes for the remainder of the semester and will transition to online-only format beginning March 30. The UW Extension Office has suspended all in-person events through May 15, including 4-H and Cent$ible Nutrition program events.

The Uinta Senior Center has suspended all in-house meals and activities and is offering only meal delivery or curbside pick-up at the center from 12-1 p.m., with a suggested donation of $4 per meal. The Senior Center bus is still available for essential transportation only. Senior Center staff and volunteers are being screened for illness daily.

Uinta County SAFV Task Force employees are working remotely but Director Angie Fessler stressed staff members are still available for advocacy and shelter needs and emergency assistance. Disability:IN staff are also still providing services, primarily from home. However, in-person contact between mentors and mentees has been restricted and phone or other contact encouraged instead.

The Evanston Youth Club buildings are closed; however, staff are moving forward with providing online youth development programs through Google Classroom. Director Holly Slade-West said students will be able to interact with teachers and participate in daily trivia challenges and club activities Monday through Thursday. Activities will include things like life skills, cooking, exercise, science experiments and more, and needed supplies will be delivered to student homes by staff members. Club Quaran-TEEN, as the Youth Club has titled it, will provide interactive opportunities for Evanston’s youth; however, Slade-West stressed funding is a concern as the economic fallout of COVID-19 is only beginning. She said it’s possible there will be a huge impact on the Youth Club’s financial stability, which could negatively impact hundreds of Evanston youth.

Local businesses

The impacts to local businesses are just beginning to ripple through the community, impacting retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and more. Aspen Cinemas announced on Facebook the business will be temporarily closed, as did iSolvU Escape Rooms.

Restaurants are making changes, with Main Street Deli, Suds Brothers, the Legal Tender, Paff’s and Ichiban Steakhouse announcing they are still offering dine-in options but have increased spacing between customers and are doing frequent cleaning and sanitizing after each table. Those restaurants and Bon Rico are offering take-out dining as well. Main Street Deli is offering take-and-bake meal options, Suds Brothers and Ana’s on Main Street are offering curbside pick-up and the Legal Tender is also offering delivery of both food and packaged liquor and has added online ordering.

Dunmar Inn General Manager Sherry Black said the hotel is utilizing Best Western’s “I Care Clean” program, which uses ultraviolet wands in addition to other cleaning procedures. Black said the UV wands have been used to clean guest rooms for quite some time but are now also being used throughout the rest of the property. The on-site Legal Tender Restaurant has temporarily closed the salad bar and the breakfast buffet. Black said, “We’re doing everything we can to keep the community safe and keep employees working.”

City Drug pharmacy offers free local delivery of pharmacy needs. New local business Jackalope Delivery, which offers delivery of items from any local business other than liquor, has used Facebook to announce decreased delivery fees as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Local gyms Flex Fitness and 7K Fit have also temporarily closed their doors. Trona Valley Credit Union lobbies have been closed, while drive-thru banking remains available.

As the crisis continues and as people continue to self-isolate, local businesses will continue to be impacted. Chamber of Commerce and small business associations continue to stress the importance of shopping local whenever possible to ensure businesses are eventually able to return to normal functioning.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney announced in her newsletter that Uinta County is one of four counties in the state to have been designated as an economic disaster region eligible for Small Business Administration disaster loan assistance. More information can be found at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

As of press time on Thursday, March 19, Wyoming has 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including eight in Fremont County, four each in Sheridan and Laramie counties, one in Park County and one in Teton County. Gov. Gordon has announced the launch of a state webpage to provide information on the outbreak at covid19.wyo.gov. Gordon has also announced the formation of five state task forces to focus on COVID-19. Secretary of State Ed Buchanan will head the state services and operations task force, State Auditor Kristi Racines will head the business and financial sector task force, State Treasurer Curt Meier the transportation and infrastructure task force, Balow the education task force, and Gordon himself the health task force.