The Coronavirus pandemic continues to create havoc with unprecedented growth throughout our state and nation. As with many other illnesses, many of our Grange members are of the age that may be severely impacted by the potential spread of this respiratory ailment. The State of Washington and the CDC have made strong recommendations regarding the types of activities that need to be curtailed for a short period of time.

As news continues to break with more and more Covid-19 cases and a small percentage of those infected having succumbed to the illness, we continue to see the pattern emerge - not unlike that with the flu and other significant respiratory ailments - that older individuals are disproportionately impacted. Some of you have expressed concerns about what to do regarding Grange meetings and events, but until we had a clearer picture of the situation we wanted wait to issue clear guidance without causing undue panic.

While we know the risk from this virus is low, many of our members are or socialize with people in high-risk groups, especially the elderly, at Grange functions and in their daily lives. For this reason, we ask you to be mindful and preventative to help us all contain this novel virus as well as other nasty viruses such as the “typical” flu. The best thing you can do is take all necessary and advised precautions, which in some cases includes self-quarantine.

State Grange Events and Activities

The Washington State Grange will make the following changes in their operation over the next few weeks:

• The Washington State Grange office will closed for the 14 day period, beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25. Staff members will be working from home, conducting business via email and conference calls. If you need to contact a staff member, it is best to email each member directly or use our office email: grange@wa-grange.org . Email addresses for all state members are listed on the website.

• Quarterly reports and dues payments are still due April 1.

• The Intersessions Committee Meetings were postponed from the original date of March 27. We will be looking at setting up conference calls for each of the committees to review current Grange policy, to identify areas where policy is needed, and to identify priorities for the 2021 legislative session.

• The Deputy, State Officer, and Pomona Master Conference, scheduled for March 27-29, is cancelled.

• State Grange Scholarship Applications will have the deadline extended to May 15 to give all students an ample opportunity to obtain transcripts and required recommendations from their school officials.

• Junior Grange Camp Directors Meeting, scheduled for April 7, will be completed via conference all. Prior to the meeting, a packet of information will be sent to each participant. The packet will be reviewed in depth during the conference call. We hope the spread of the virus with be curtailed before the camping program begins in late June.

• The State Grange Convention is still scheduled for June 24-27 at the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds. By the first part of May, we will learn if that date will remain intact or if we need to postpone and/or reschedule the convention.

• The deadline for receiving resolutions is normally 30 days prior to the convention. With the cancellation of several Grange meetings through April and possibly into May, the State Grange Executive Committee has extended the deadline to June 10. All resolutions must be in the State Grange Office by 5 p.m. on that date.

Subordinate and Pomona Grange Meetings and Activities

Grange meetings and our associated events are public gatherings that encourage friendly interactions. Our events often include potlucks with buffet-style service that may also heighten the opportunity for the virus to pass from one person to another. Remember, symptoms may not appear until 14 days after exposure to the virus, and the virus may survive up to three days on surfaces outside the human body. Therefore, even if no one appears sick at an event, it is possible that illness could still spread.

If your Granges insist on meeting, here are some additional tips you may want to consider regarding meeting protocols:

• This is a good time to try out virtual meetings. Freeconferencecall.com is really free and available to join members together by phone for a meeting without leaving your home.

• If you do have an in-person meeting, the requirement of the Assistants to take the word from members present, involving close face to face exposure, should be discouraged and will not be enforced.

• Unnecessary handling of implements, such as staves, flags, Graces’ decorations, station covers, rug, implement box and even the Bible, should be discouraged or done in short form and will not be enforced.

• Refreshments, especially those made at home, should be discouraged.

• The Executive Committee has the authority to transact any business of the Grange in an emergency. The committee can meet, in person or by phone, to conduct any business that cannot be delayed, such as paying basic bills. Be sure to record these actions and report them at the next regular meeting so they can be recorded in the minutes.

In the face of such an emerging health crisis, the Bylaw (6.12.1) that requires Subordinate Granges to meet monthly and Pomona Grange to meet once in three months will not be enforced.

Grange Hall Usage and Rentals

The State of Washington has restricted all activities where more than 50 people gather. The federal government is recommending no more than ten people at any one time. It may be possible to make modifications to limit exposure of the virus to those in attendance. If you find it necessary to continue renting your hall during this time, please be aware that you will need to sanitize your hall both before and after each usage. Disinfect all surfaces after any gathering and use disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer frequently. Instructions and recipes for homemade hand sanitizer using aloe vera or glycerin and alcohol are available online.

Together, we can turn this crisis into an opportunity to build the connections within our Granges and in each community. Let us continue working together to solve this problem as we work to build a brighter future!

As we all charter these uncertain times, it is first important to keep each of us safe. While social distancing at this time is the new normal, how can we as Grangers continue to work to help our communities in need? How do we stay connected and help those around us while also practicing social distancing and abiding by the “stay at home” order?

Stay connected – what can we do to stay connected and help those around us while staying safe? Social media is key in times such as this. Utilize your Facebook pages. I see many Facebook pages that are doing just that. This is the perfect way for our Granges to stay connected with our communities. Beehive Grange is sharing positive thoughts, quotes, as well as upcoming events in the summer and fall. Moses Lake Grange is sharing information from local entities and keeping their community informed. Skookumchuck Grange is asking for locals to help donate 3% hydrogen peroxide as their local Tenino distillery works to produce FREE hand sanitizer to their community.

Look outside of the box – What can we do to physically help those around us right now? Rose Valley Grange put together sewing packets for anyone in their community who wanted to help sew masks. They created a drive-thru process for pick-up to keep everyone safe and practice social distancing. Swauk Teanaway Grange is using their hall as a lunch delivery location for their local elementary school. Humtulips Grange revised their food bank pick up this month to make all participants much safer by creating a drive-thru service and fed about 30 additional families in their tiny community. On an exciting note, they received 5 new applications for membership as well. While also practicing social distancing, Goldendale Grange set up an emergency collection of essential items for struggling families in their community who were unable to afford much needed food and supplies, creating a drive-up distribution and donation area.

There are so many great things the Granges can do for their communities and I know there is much more that is happening out there! It truly makes you proud to be a Granger! We may be more important than ever before as we look for the new normal. This is a time to slow down and get back to what’s most important to us, family, friends and community.

Love in action - Let’s look at the global act of solidarity we are witnessing around us and around the world. We are all witnessing something much larger than ourselves, we are witnessing the great love we have for everyone around us, to people we hold dear to us, to our immune-compromised brothers and sisters and to the people we will never meet. As we see the streets, the stadiums, the churches, museums, and theaters closed, we see love in action. What we are witnessing in that negative space is how much we all do care for one another. Take a moment to look at the emptiness and marvel at all the love. God bless and stay safe!

Unprecedented Times for Our Granges

2020 is appearing to be a year to remember with numerous changes to our daily lives. Likewise, our Granges are being forced to operate under different rules.

We started 2020 with a bang…..increased attendance and better representation from our Granges at the Annual Grange Resources and Leadership Conference series. We were seeing new members in several Granges who haven’t had new members for several quarters. February brought the reorganization of Birdsview Grange in Skagit County. Within just a couple days, we had another telephone call of a group wanting to reorganize Orchardvale Grange in Yakima County. The Orchardvale meeting is currently scheduled for April.

March came along and anything that could go wrong has. The Coronavirus pandemic has turned our lives upside down and our Granges are no different. Elsewhere in this issue, you will find a letter from the State Grange on the virus and how it affects our Grange operations. With the recent “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation by Governor Inslee and the emphasis on social distancing, we are forced to operate our Granges much differently than we are accustomed to.

While face to face Grange meetings were once the norm, we are now resorting to using our Grange Executive Committees and/or holding virtual meetings. Our Granges do have the option of holding electronic/virtual meetings. Copies of the State Grange Electronic Meeting Procedures are available on the State Grange website. While there are restrictions as to what may be discussed and voted up, we also have to understand that we are in unprecedented times and may have to adapt these procedures to work for us in our current situation.

The difficulties presented to us are a method of testing our abilities to deal with the difficulties, which will make our leaders and this organization stronger over the long run. All Granges and Grange leaders are encouraged to meet these challenges head on and to work out a solution that will benefit the organization over the long term.

Rest assured, no Grange in our state is going to be challenged for not holding a regular full-form meeting during this difficult period. In my Masters’ Address at last year’s State Grange Convention, I encouraged all Granges to think outside of the box and to be creative in solving the problems facing our Granges. The opportunity is now before us. Take advantage of these opportunities to demonstrate how we can build the partnerships and cultivate the connections that will build a stronger Grange in every community across the state!

In the next few weeks, we will be making decisions on the status of our State Grange Convention, our summer camping program, State Grange contests, and many other Grange activities in our state. I assure you that State Grange leadership will keep the health and well-being of our members in mind as we make decisions on these so very important activities. I hope your Pomona and Subordinate Grange leaders will do the same.

Legislative Session Wrap-Up 2020

By Heather Hansen

Legislative Lobbyist

The 2020 legislative session wrapped up March 12, just before restrictions due to the corona virus taught us all about social distancing. The last bill that passed was a response to the corona virus. It allocated $200 million from the state’s rainy-day fund to respond to virus related issues. As of this writing, there is speculation that legislators will be called back into special session to deal with numerous issues created by the virus. It is unclear if or how they may be able to meet while maintaining social distancing.

Numerous bills were introduced this session that would have been harmful to rural Washington in general and agriculture specifically. In the end, most were significantly amended or did not pass. A short session is supposed to be limited to emergencies and little fixes. That was definitely not the case this year and many large, complex bills were introduced, in many cases without stakeholder participation.

It’s no secret that climate change is a priority issue for Governor Inslee and many legislators. Two issues that were pushed hard this year but failed to pass were a low carbon fuel standard and a price on carbon, either as a carbon tax or a cap and trade program.

The budget created a work group on the Growth Management Act (GMA) to be run by the Department of Commerce. The work group is to make recommendations to the 2021 legislature for updating the GMA. This could have ramification for property values and future development in rural areas.

Also in the budget, the Department of Ecology was directed to convene a work group to study the design and use of the state water trust, water banking, and water transfers, and present its findings to the legislature before December 1, 2020. The work group must include: federally recognized Indian tribes; local governments including cities, counties, and special purpose districts; environmental organizations; agriculture; business; and entities involved with the establishment of water banks.

The plastic bag ban, which has been the subject of much wrangling for the past two years passed this year. Grocers insisted on a fee for paper bags, which studies have shown decrease paper bag usage. An agreement was reached, with an 8-cent fee on both paper and reusable plastic bags. Starting in 2026, that will increase to 12-cents for plastic, while paper will stay at 8 cents. This “passthrough charge” is retained by the retailer as profit and sales tax does apply. There is also language in the bill directing the Department of Ecology to expedite permitting for new pulp and paper facilities to increasing the ability to produce bags.

Two new grant programs were created ostensibly to help farmers although neither came from the agriculture industry nor did they receive much support from ag groups. A three-year pilot program was created to reimburse farming operations and timber producers for purchasing compost from facilities with solid waste handling permits. Reimbursement may include transportation, equipment, spreading, and labor costs. The pilot program will run January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023.

The Conservation Commission was tasked with creating the grant program outlined in SSSB 5947. Grants may be used for carbon storage or reduction; precision agriculture equipment; the purchase of seed, seedlings, spores, animal feed, and amendments that help reduce or store carbon; and services to landowners, such as the development of site specific conservation plans to increase soil organic levels or to increase usage of precision agricultural practices, or design and implementation of best management practices to reduce livestock emissions.

Senate bill 5395 requiring sex health education to be taught in school at all levels passed amid a huge outcry in Olympia. Groups have formed asking the Governor to veto it. As of this writing, he has not acted. The deadline to sign or veto bills is April 1.

A new office of firearm safety and violence prevention was created within the department of commerce for the purpose of coordinating and promoting state and local efforts to reduce firearm violence. The office will be tasked with working with law enforcement agencies, county prosecutors, researchers, and public health agencies to develop and implement evidence-based firearm violence intervention and prevention strategies. And contracting for a statewide helpline, counseling, and referral services for victims, friends, and family members impacted by gun violence.

Looking ahead to the November election

This November, all statewide elected officials will be on the ballot along with all 98 members of the state House and one-half of the state Senate. Since it is a presidential election year voter turnout is expected to be high.

So far, only one sitting statewide elected official has announced retirement, Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib. Eleven House members and three Senators have announced that they will not seek reelection. Expect more announcement before filing week in May.

If you have questions about existing state law or policy as you prepare resolutions, please do not hesitate to ask.