2020 West Shore grad Trinity Stivers share the ways COVID-19 has altered her college plans.

Since the start of the 2020 season at Space Coast Crew in August, coaches have been taking precautions to ensure their rowers are as safe as possible during the pandemic.   “We went through multiple steps of trying to understand about what COVID is, and how it spreads, with all the new information and all the new data that comes out,” said Brian Little, director of rowing and head coach. SCC has set up daily pre-practice measures. “We take temperatures, we ask the questions that are normally asked by anyone: Have you been around anyone with COVID, have you had any symptoms...

Amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and calls to defund the police, the results of one local election may help decide the fate of law enforcement: the Brevard County Sheriff’s race. Incumbent Wayne Ivey has served as a law enforcement officer for about 40 years, and has been Brevard County’s sheriff for almost eight years. “Throughout my career I have been blessed to serve in almost every capacity of law enforcement including corrections, patrol, violent crime investigations, narcotic investigations, budgeting and leadership,” Ivey said. “I wanted to help lead the sheriff’s...

After six years of providing additional funding for school maintenance and repairs, residents will be asked to renew a surtax benefiting Brevard Public Schools when they vote on Nov. 3. The surtax is a half-cent sales tax on local purchases. According to Brevard Public Schools’ Chief Strategic Communications Office, Russell Bruhn, the revenue generated enables schools to complete facility, technological and security updates.  “There are 84 schools in Brevard County, and many of them are older than your parents, possibly your grandparents,” Bruhn said. “And those buildings...

Swim team captain Layla Auter said she has found an easier way to balance school with athletics since the start of the pandemic: e-learning. “I’d say there’s definitely pros and cons for being online,” the senior said. In previous years, athletes who missed school were unable to participate in their sport that day, but now up to half of team members are learning from home. As a result, athletes are not required to attend school in person, leaving some to reap the benefits of online learning as well as taking on the disadvantages. In addition to providing additional protection...

Students from all corners of the county begin the day by sleeping an hour later than usual. It’s a welcome change to last year’s hectic mornings filled with the panic and stress of getting to school on time. For these students, “classrooms” are located a couple of feet away from their beds, so they no longer have to rush out of their doors. They gather their notebooks and turn on their computers in order to venture into the new and uncharted world of E-Learning. In order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, a new online system of instruction has emerged, where students engage and learn in...