Some unique local Halloween and fall festival plans are starting to come together. Carlsbad MainStreet has released its plans for an upcoming virtual Halloween costume contest. Nuclear Waste Partnership is serving as the title sponsor. There will be four age ranges and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in each category will receive prizes. Top prizes include a Playhouse, a Nintendo Switch Light and an Oculus Quest 64 GB. Please keep up with Carlsbad MainStreet for more information on this exciting contest. The Downtown Farmer’s Market also concluded on Oct. 15 as well. Congratulations to Director Ashly Key and everyone involved on a successful farmer’s market.
The Loving FFA is also organizing a virtual zombie walk and costume contest. You can get more information about their event here https://forms.gle/P9zheRj5Ku4qvefo8
Local resident Stephanie Williams has also organized a Keep Carlsbad Safe Trick or Treat Route on her “Spooktacular Things to See in Carlsbad” Facebook page. So far, 30 homes have agreed to participate, which means that the residents are saying they plan on giving out candy, but in a safe, socially-distanced manner such as setting up a “grab and go” spot on a porch or table for candy. Stephanie has also put up a map of participating locations, as well as costumes and decoration ideas.
We participated in the weekly call with the White House on Wednesday and received an update on ongoing federal efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Doctors highlighted the recent increase in positive cases, in particular across the upper Midwest. They noted statistics showing that many people are very careful when going to stores and public places, but relax when it comes to participating in large public gatherings. Federal resources are providing millions of COVID tests to nursing homes and other vulnerable communities, according to the update.
Census Update: As of Oct. 14, 99.9% of households have been accounted for in the 2020 Census. Self-response and field data collection operations for the 2020 Census concluded on Thursday. Thank you to everyone in the community who assisted with the Census process during what was clearly an especially challenging year. Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Rodriguez and Deanna Taylor represented the City of Carlsbad in local Census outreach. Special thanks to Russell Doss, John Waters and everyone on the Eddy County Census Committee for working closely with us, as well as to the communities of Artesia, Loving and Hope. Finally, thank you to all members of our legislative delegation for advocating that traditional Census counting methods may not always work in Carlsbad and the surrounding area and encouraging the Census to also look at water use and similar data. We hope the Census will consider those suggestions during this phase of processing data.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway