PART I: Here’s why Ashland County Health Department disabled its Facebook page:
PART II: Public health communication in the age of social media:
‘Spring Awakening’ musical at the Renaissance explores all that’s known — and isn’t:
Kay G. Stevens:
Health Depts. tasked with sharing public information
Today – How local health departments are shouldering the task of sharing public information online during the pandemic. There was no social media during the last major pandemic in the United States. During the 1918 flu, the public received information from advertisements, newspapers and flyers.
Today, almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, social media is flooded with information from personal accounts, health departments and anyone between.
And while social media has made public health information more easily accessible, health officials have voiced concerns about how social media also makes it much easier to spread false information. Public health officials in Knox, Richland and Ashland Counties agree.
Though it’s a mixed bag, they ultimately think social media is an important tool for public health communication in the digital age.
Here’s how they’re all handling the task:
Knox Public Health has staff specifically dedicated to monitoring social media. Alayna Mowry, who works in marketing and communications, is heading the efforts. Addressing misinformation and disinformation in comments is a key part of Mowry’s role.
She said she starts every workday with comment moderation and then continues to monitor comments throughout the day. Public Information officer Pam Palm works alongside her. KPH started hosting Facebook Live events to answer community questions and address misinformation in real time.
Palm said she thinks Facebook Live helped with transparency. The Richland Public Health department took a different approach. They saw the most success partnering with other local organizations in order to produce and release content about preventative health measures and vaccine safety.
Unfortunately, some small-scale health departments may not have the resources or expertise to moderate the debates that often go on in the comments.
That’s what happened to the Ashland County Health Department, who disabled its Facebook page last December, because they simply do not have the time or capacity to monitor it.
Instead they’ll be using their website, the media and community partners as its primary to provide public health information. The fate of the Ashland health department’s page remains unclear.
Metamorphosis of The Ren
Now, some local history. In August 1980, the Ohio Theatre became The Renaissance Theatre.
Just three years later it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Then, in January 1997, the theater’s name was changed to The Renaissance when it merged with the Mansfield Symphony.
The original building was completely restored in 1985 at a cost of $2.25 million.
Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age rock musical
Next, an event that you should know about. Few shows in musical theatre challenge its audience more than the coming-of-age rock musical, “Spring Awakening.”
The story follows a group of teenagers navigating adolescence and their emerging sexuality under the harsh rule of parents and teachers.
It features profanity, moments of violence and abuse, and other intense themes. Director Ryan Shealy would rate it “R” in movie terms. But it’s the difficult nature of these subjects that make them so important to talk about.
“Spring Awakening” marks the return of the “stage-on-stage” format on the Renaissance main stage, a concept that hasn’t happened since the opening of Theatre 166 in 2018.
Construction and weather delays have rendered the black-box theatre space unusable for the season, but a smaller audience was still a priority. This production also marks a first-time collaboration with Richland Academy.
Kay Gerhart Stevens
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Kay Gerhart Stevens of Bellville. Kay was a 1962 graduate of Bellville High School and after meeting Roger W. Stevens on a blind date, the pair married in 1966.
She worked a few years at Prudential and 13 years as a clerk at Stoodts.
Kay was also a founding member of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church and a member of the Chestnut Chapel Club. Kay had a passion for genealogy and researched all branches of her own family tree in addition to many friends and served as the attendance-taker at the Leedy family reunions.
She enjoyed knitting, reading, making jewelry, and dining in restaurants.
Kay will be remembered for her kind and giving spirit. She volunteered at the BNOC and taught knitting there and at the Lexington Senior Center. She was active with aerobics and taught classes at Chapel Hill.
She was the “taxi driver” for the church ladies and neighborhood kids. She cherished her family and liked to spoil her grandkids. Kay’s nurturing and social approach to life was loved by many and will be dearly missed.
Thank you for taking a moment with us to remember and celebrate Kay’s life.
