Town cancels farmers market; two parks closed

The town of Wise’s Dotson Park and Arrowhead Park are closed until further notice because of COVID-19 virus safety concerns.

Also, town council last month accepted a recommendation not to open the downtown farmers market this season.

During a June 23 meeting, council reviewed recommendations from its recreation committee, which met June 19.

Council accepted all of the committee’s recommendations and members expressed regret that the “pandemic continues to escalate,” Town Manager Beverly Owens explained in a July 2 email.

The recreation committee’s report noted that under an executive order by Gov. Ralph Northam:

• Outdoor recreational sports require 10 feet of physical distance between instructors, participants and spectators, except for “incidental contact or contact between members of the same household.”

• The total number of attendees at an outdoor event must be no more than the lesser of half the venue’s occupancy load or 50 people.

Thus, the committee recommended keeping Dotson Park and Arrowhead Park closed until further notice, allowing no organized sports or activities.

Also the committee recommended the town use the opportunity at Dotson Park to “strengthen the turf with field maintenance, fertilizing, herbicides and irrigation.”

Further, the committee recommended the town continue to promote curbside pickup of bagged produce from local vendors at the Big Glades outdoor facility and not open the town’s farmers market this season.