Hey, kids: Name COVID-19 shutdown in Portage County, win $100

Metro Wire Staff

You’ve heard it before, but Portage County is a great place to live.

In the past three years, our collective communities have experienced some largescale emergencies:

• A freak June 2017 storm flooded some areas of north Stevens Point with up to three feet of water for over 24 hours.
• An April 2018 blizzard hit the area with a record-breaking 20 inches of snow in a single day, bringing operations at many businesses, public service organizations, and schools to a grinding halt.
• Last July’s derecho devastated many parts of the county with 80-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain. The storm knocked down thousands of trees and left many of the county’s residents without power for almost a week—some, even longer.

During these incidents, local firehouses opened their doors for anyone needing a shower, commercial operators invited residents to store cold food items in their freezers, strangers pulled out their chainsaws to remove trees blocking roads, and those with power offered makeshift charging stations, air conditioning, and other respites to those without.

We’re seeing the same generosity now. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced local schools to close until at least April 6, and many government offices, child care facilities, sporting events, and businesses have altered their hours or canceled events as a precaution—but some people have taken to social media to offer food delivery or childcare services.

Many important periods of history have a name. The Great Depression. The Greatest Generation. The Anthrax Scare of 2001. These are generally assigned to a timeframe within which a major event and its effects are most prevalent.

This is an important period of history in Portage County, and we’re asking young people in Portage Co. to help come up with a suitable name for it. Make no mistake: the contest isn’t designed to make light of what is, for some, a serious and deadly virus. The contest encourages young people to “think locally” about something that’s affecting the entire world.

• The contest is open to students in grades K-12 who live and attend school in Portage Co., but can be submitted by a parent or a group of students. Students’ name(s) and age(s) must be included.
• Name suggestions can contain a reference to Portage Co. but should not include the name of a specific town/village/city, or the name of a person.
• Submissions should be limited to no more than four words.
• All submissions meeting the above guidelines will be open to public voting from 6 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, March 22, 2020, at spmetrowire.com. The winner will be announced on March 23.
• The submission with the highest number of votes will receive a $100 Portage Co. gift certificate, which can be used like cash at any business in the county.

Submissions must be submitted by email to brandi@spmetrowire.com by 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 22.