Why a Walhalla councilman won’t endorse egg hunt

David Underwood says he has nothing against the holy holiday of Easter, nor is he opposed to Easter egg hunts for children. But he explains that, in his capacity as a Walhalla councilman, he can’t justify spending money to defray the costs during a time when city residents are anxious about COVID-19 and some have begun to feel the economic backlash from the virus. The city councilman called 101.7/WGOG NEWS to register why he joined a majority of the city’s elected officials this week in declining to commit their city to be part of the event Saturday, April 11, the day before Easter. The idea was brought up by Underwood’s colleague, Josh Roberts. A school teacher, Roberts said he thinks an Easter egg hunt in which the eggs are packaged in bags and handed out in a drive-thru would be a good outlet for children who, like adults, are beginning to feel isolated by all of the stay-at-home recommendations. Underwood says he’s worried about the possibility that a drive-thru egg distribution might not prevent someone from catching COVID-19. Specifically, he mentions members of his city’s police and fire departments who would be assigned to such an event. According to Underwood, Walhalla could hardly afford to lose any of its thinly-staffed police and fire fighting personnel should any one of them be forced into a self-quarantine situation.