Year in Review: Ready to leave 2020 behind?
Today is the last day of 2020. The end of the year is a natural time for reflection, and 2020 gave us a lot to think about.
As a community our attention was focused on coronavirus for most of the year, but 2020 was a year full of big events and notable news stories.
There were protests and rallies. Businesses and schools were forced to adapt to new realities. Face masks became a political talking point. We had notable wildfires and a prolonged conversation about camping on state lands. To top it all off, there was a big election. Today’s News-Herald newsroom staff agreed that the stories presented here — in no particular order — represent some of the most important, or at least some of the most interesting, events that occurred in Lake Havasu City in 2020.
The list is by no means supposed to be objective, nor is it all inclusive. Chances are, you have a different idea about what the top stories of the year were. If that’s the case, we hope you’ll share your list with us in the comments below.
In the meantime, thanks for a wonderful year, and have a happy — and safe— 2021.
1. The virus that changed everything
Like the rest of the nation, the coronavirus pandemic hit Lake Havasu City and Mohave County hard. The first case was announced on March 24, and by the end of the year, Havasu had more than 3,100 positive cases and 67 local residents died from the infection, according to the Mohave County Health Department. The virus was the catalyst for drastic attempts to contain its spread by local and state government, which included a statewide curfew, closures of businesses, churches and schools, and cancellations of many of the events that help fuel Lake Havasu City’s tourism-based economy. Hospitals throughout the state, including Havasu Regional Medical Center, were hit particularly hard as coronavirus required changes to admitting and visitation procedures, while medical staff were stressed by the increasingly perilous workload.
By June, Black Lives Matter protests had been held in communities around the country in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis a month earlier at the hands of police officers. Lake Havasu City residents held a peaceful protest on June 6, attended by about 150 protesters and even more bystanders and counter-protesters, as the group made its way down McCulloch Boulevard. The event remained peaceful, with no reports of any incidents.
Just weeks before the November election, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Bullhead City.
The event took place at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, with appearances by Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, U.S. Sen. Martha McSally and U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, who represents the areas of Lake Havasu City and Bullhead City. For many supporters, it was an opportunity to see the president address complex social and political issues surrounding the 2020 General Election. For others, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the president in person.
Rules implemented by the Arizona Department of Health required certain businesses to close during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Notably, restaurants, bars and gymnasiums faced severe operational restrictions as cases surged in March. In June, Lake Havasu City announced it would enforce the closures mandated by Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order, with businesses found in noncompliance facing fines of up to $2,500. Ducey’s earlier order allowed bars to remain open as long as food was made available, but reports of bars packed full of patrons, with few wearing masks or social distancing, prompted more Draconian rules from the governor’s office. The state unveiled its reopening plan in August. It allowed businesses to reopen in phases as soon as counties reached moderate levels of virus spread.
School librarian Diane Page hands a free meal to students at Havasupai Elementary School. The effort took place at Havasupai and Smoketree Elementary Schools, as well as Thunderbolt Middle School, with bags of breakfast and lunch foods for children as schools remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Classroom instruction came to an abrupt end in the spring as the state of Arizona sought to minimize spread of the coronavirus. Schools throughout the state shifted to distance learning, with students and teachers using online tools such as Zoom to continue classes from home. When students returned to school in the fall, students in junior high and high school were on hybrid schedule, attending school for two days a week and staying home for the remainder, while elementary schools resumed with full-time schedules.
Three sections of the nearly 200-year old London Bridge were destroyed when an alleged drunken driver crossed over the center line on the London Bridge and sideswiped an off road vehicle before running into and dislodging the granite railing on the north side of the bridge. Prescott-based Technology Construction was hired to handle the repairs to the world’s largest antique. The repairs were completed in November. This was the fourth time the London Bridge has needed repairs after a car ran into its railing since the bridge was relocated to Havasu in 1967.
Supporters of President Trump packed the Bridgewater Channel on Memorial Day weekend for a rally celebrating the 45th president.
Farm Fresh Dispensary employee Laura Nagel helps customers at Farm Fresh Dispensary on Lake Havasu Avenue.
After years of trying, Arizona voters in November said OK to a ballot measure that legalized the use of recreational marijuana. The Mohave County Attorney’s office moved quickly to relax its pot prosecution policies after roughly 60% of the state and local electorate approved Prop. 207.
Winter visitors set up camp on State Trust lands surrounding Havasu, which is legally accessible only with a permit obtained through the State Lands Department.
After numerous complaints from neighbors of Arizona State Trust Lands, Commissioner Lisa Atkins signed an order prohibiting overnight camping in the area. Residents addressed the Mohave County Board of Supervisors last April to discuss the need for a fence in the area, which was ultimately provided by the Arizona State Land Department. Officials and residents hoped the fence would prevent campers from parking or staying within sight of Fathom Drive — and it worked, to the extent that many campers instead chose to stay on State Trust land within 100 yards of London Bridge Road.
From left: Edward Quinn, MD, receives one of the first two covid-19 vaccinations in Lake Havasu City from Michael Rosen, MD, while Brian Scott, DO, is vaccinated by Registered Nurse Patti Kinley. Havasu Regional Medical Center received its first shipment of 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 22 and began distributing them just a few hours later.
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine arrived in Mohave County just in time for Christmas, and hundreds of residents were expected to be vaccinated before the end of the year. Arizona is following Centers for Disease Control guidance in using a phased distribution approach in order to vaccinate priority populations as quickly as possible.
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