COVID-19 continued its rapid spread in rural America last week, setting a record for new infections for the sixth consecutive week and placing 3 out of every 4 rural counties on the red-zone list. New infections reached 110,130 for the week of Sunday to Saturday, Oct.

IT’S OVER. Election 2020 is behind us, and we have eight weeks left before we can say goodbye to a truly awful year. The pandemic will still be with us next year. So will political rancor. We at least have hope that a vaccine will put an end to the coronavirus. There won’t be a vaccine that will heal the red/blue political divide. The best we can hope for is that families and friends can restore harmony to their relationships. Whether or not our candidates won or lost, we all need to repair relationships damaged by political differences.

The eighth-grade and JV Wildcats headed south last Thursday, escaping the polar icecap of the northeastern Panhandle in search of unfrozen football turf. With the seventh-graders sidelined by COVID, the eighth-graders took the field first.

Canadian’s football future looks bright with the 5th- and 6th-grade Cats defeating Merritt 12-0 for the tourney trophy Sunday at Sayre Athletic Field in Sayre, Oklahoma. Receiver Charlene Cervantes earned Most Valuable Player honors for her efforts in the twoday tournament.