Week of September 20th, 2021
There's no new CLI video this week, but you can check out
all of CLI's videos by visiting CLI's YouTube channel:

In case you're wondering what day it is--
According to nationaldaycalendar.com it might be:
John's usual--

Most of the discussion at the state level last week was dominated by discussions around the vaccine mandates. The main concern is that the new law applies to all Medicaid service providers. All employers, and even more so in the DD field, are having difficulty recruiting qualified applicants. So the worry is that that some people will leave the DD field and find other employment where the vaccine mandate wouldn't apply. Right now, that would be a problem for all DD providers. This includes the State of Ohio, which still operates quite a few residential development centers. I am not sure whether this particular mandate will cost CLI personnel or not. Most CLI staff are already vaccinated and my gut tells me that the people who have been holding off wouldn't quit over the vaccine. I suspect we'll have a fair amount of time. Everyone agrees that there will definitely be lawsuits, which will mean delays in implementation.

Looks like this newsletter is a bit light for new pictures. We promise to do better next week. I know that Rocio & Jeremy are 2 new videos-- at least one of which I'm (reasonably) sure will be ready to roll out for next week. Don't forget, we love to feature pictures that you all take on your own, not just the ones that CLI takes during one program or another.

The local COVID cases are ticking up again-- even among people who have been vaccinated. This is troubling because none of us want to have to go back to keeping ourselves isolated in small groups again. This week, CLI will be sending out new COVID-related procedures to give people guidelines related to illness and/or possible COVID. The big points will be:
  1. Stay home if you feel sick-- even just a little bit.
  2. Stay home if someone in your house has COVID.
  3. Stay home if someone in your house is sick and it might be COVID.

The crux of this is that even though it's a hassle to stay away for a couple days-- it'll be way worse if we have an outbreak among other CLI clients or CLI staff. CLI doesn't have any extra staff to cover anything right now, so a COVID outbreak, might meant that everyone has to stay home for even longer than if just one person had self-quarantined. The days of coming in with the common cold are gone.

Have a good week. Keep yourself and those around you safe.
John
Would you like to join CLI for some fun virtual activities?

It's a bunch of loud fun!
James' Firelands Local Update:
Today is such a great day. Why?
It is my birthday, of course. I think that qualifies it as a great day.
 
Last week Payne, Nickles & Company held a shred drop off day at both their Norwalk office and their Sandusky office. This an event that they have been having for 10 years now. At the time of print, I do not have all the final totals. I can tell you that they will have more than doubled the tonnage from last year.
 
John and I began our tour last week talking about the need to further separate CLI as a provider of services to people with DD from Firelands Local as a for-profit company that provides business services like shredding, labor & assembly-- and also employs people with DD. We presented to the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. We plan on continuing this going forward. We always love the opportunity to talk about our people, our business and what we are doing. If you know of a group that would like one or both of us to come speak, please let me know.
 
Production.
Last week was a little slow for us. We shredded 6,000 pounds of paper and recycled 1,500 pounds of cardboard. We were also able to complete just over 18,000 units of production.
 
Please stay tuned for the final totals from the Payne Nickles event. It will be extremely impressive.
 
This weeks pictures are from the same bean field last week. The beans on the right and in pic 2 were an extremely bright golden color that just stood out against its background. I simply found it interesting to see the difference in color from one giant section to another giant section.
James Johnson
419-921-6400
Good Works Cafe Menu:

Good Works Cafe September Menu

9/3 Vegetable Soup & Muffins

9/10 Chicken Salad, Pretzels & Fruit

9/17 Sloppy Joes & Chips

9/24 Chili & Cornbread

Good Works Cafe Donation Request

Canned Tomatoes
Canned Mixed Vegetables
Canned Corn
Green Beans
Beef Bouillon
Mayo
Chicken
Ground Beef
Potato Chips
Chili or Kidney Beans
Chili Seasoning Packets
Corn Muffin Mix
Cupcake Liners
Elbow Macaroni
Donations can be brought to the Clubhouse from 9:30a - 12p or call (419)921-6057 to arrange a donation pick-up.

This helps us keep costs down and be able to provide meals each Friday at a low cost.

Thanks everyone! Here's to a good week!
Kerrie Close
Community Settings Coordinator
(419)921-6057
Music videos of the week-- got one you'd like to share? Send it in!