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Defense Production Act Employees of Braskem America shelter at work.
Staying home from work is one way to keep from spreading the virus. And then there’s the opposite: Staying at work. That’s what employees of Braskem America’s plant in Neal, outside Huntington, did. Starting at the end of March, 42 employees volunteered to participate in a four-week “live-in.” The exercise wasn’t just an alternative way of slowing the spread. Braskem produces polypropylene, an essential raw material for N95 medical face masks and other personal protective equipment used by frontline health care workers—items that were in high demand and short supply at the beginning of the pandemic. In Neal and at a similar Pennsylvania plant, Braskem formed resiliency teams to maximize the company’s production of polypropylene in the safest way possible. Resiliency team members packed their toothbrushes and shaving kits, and the company supplied kitchens and groceries, internet access, and beds. Workers also received a well-earned bump in pay. In the third week of April, Braskem America told the Washington Post that the company had produced 40 million pounds of polypropylene in the previous month— enough to make 500 million N95 masks.
MONICA ZALAZNIK W BUCKHANNON, UPSHUR COUNT Y The “Grocer-Raunt” Fish Hawk Acres transforms itself. with dine-in eating temporarily
Hawkins said of the expanded space next door. “In the space where the produce is now, we are thinking of making that our beer and wine selection. None of it is set in stone; we’re taking it one step at a time.” Once completed, Hawkins said, the new setup will have several sections, featuring a meat department, beverage area, deli, dairy, and more. “It’s like a grocery store, but micro-size, and it’s going to be like a neighborhood market where you can also get great food,” Hawkins said. “We’re also talking with an online platform to get everything listed online so people can shop online, and then we would actually deliver it to their homes, and they could also do curbside pickup.” Can’t wait to get your favorite Fish Hawk food? You can order off the sandwich and breakfast menu online for takeout, or stop by and pick something up from the market. Currently, only three people will be permitted inside at once to maintain social distancing protocols. A list of items available in the grocery portion of the market can be found at facebook.com/fishhawkacresw v.
prohibited , this Buckhannon eatery has moved forward with plans to expand next door with the goal of offering more space for both the market and restaurant portions of the Main Street business. Co-owners Dale Hawkins and Teresa Lipps—along with the rest of the Fish Hawk team—have been working on the expansion into the building adjacent to their current location while also keeping the coolers stocked and grill going for pickup orders. Patrons can currently stop by and shop; you just can’t sit and eat. “We are converting into a ‘grocer-raunt,’ so there are no tables or chairs right now, and when they will return all depends on the virus,” Hawkins said. Hawkins said that, when someone first walks in to the new-look space, they will notice shelves of grocery products where the large farm table used to be, and the eight- door cooler has been cut in half—the other portion will be on the other side of the wall, in the new expanded area. “Eventually that’s going to be a produce section,”
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