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SALEM -- Area residents, businesses, schools and community governments are beginning 2021 pretty much the same way they ended 2020 -- masked up and armed with hand sanitizer.
Wash your hands became the mantra, social distancing became the practice and cancellations of everything from the Salem Super Cruise to fireworks displays and the Summer Concert Series became the norm last year.
Lives were lost to the pandemic, with many families in mourning -- not in some far off place, but in Salem, Leetonia and many other local communities.
With 2021 comes a new year and new hope as distribution of the vaccine begins.
Will some of the events cancelled return this year? Maybe, maybe not.
Mayor John Berlin said earlier this week that the paperwork for downtown Salem to become a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area may be submitted to the state this year. There was no rush since the state enacted rules against mass gatherings due to COVID.
He said the approval process isn't expected to take long, so when people can gather again, the city will be ready.
Dates for the 2021 Salem Super Cruise have been tentatively set for June 10-13, dependent on what's happening with the pandemic. The status of other summer staples, like the concerts and parks events, remains unknown at this point, also dependent on the status of the virus.
City hall remains closed and council continues to meet via Zoom, kicking off the new year at 7 p.m. Tuesday. This will be the first regular meeting for new Councilman Jake Gano, who attended his first special meeting earlier this week.
New this year will be the closed city income tax office at city hall since the Regional Income Tax Agency took over tax collections. The housing inspectors could be moving out, too, eventually.
Berlin said he's hoping to hire a full-time housing inspector this year and officially move the housing department into the health department. The move has been delayed since inspections haven't been happening due to COVID-19. The department is down to one part-time housing inspector since the other part-time housing inspector, Roy Brown, retired in 2020.
The health department has been dealing with the pandemic for most of last year, trying to keep up with contact tracing to ensure people exposed to the virus and those with the virus quarantine to reduce the risk to others. The department has been kept busy with complaints, too, related to the virus.
Salem city school students aren't scheduled to return to the classroom in person until later this month. As a precaution, they'll return to online instruction after the holiday break.
Restaurants and retail establishments, salons, gyms and other service providers remain open, practicing safe business protocols for COVID-19. Industrial plants in Salem remain in production, too, following pandemic guidelines. Churches remain open for worship.
Happy new year? Stay tuned.
mgreier@salemnews.net