Special coverage of COVID-19 and how it is affecting the lives of Mansfield residents
Welcome to another episode of About Mansfield, I’m Steve Cosio with Coleen Daniell. Thank you for being here. This is special coverage of COVID-19 and how the Coronavirus affecting the lives of those who live in Mansfield. Let’s take a look at this week’s headlines:
• Coronavirus closes MISD campuses for two weeks.
• Local schools and universities switch to “Distance Learning”
• MISD students will continue to receive nutritional meals during the break
• Local nonprofit reaches out to the community for support
• U.S. officials recommend that you avoid groups larger than ten people
• Tarrant County Commissioner Devan Allen talks about the virus outbreak at the county level
• We’ll fill you in on which municipal facilities are open and closed during this time of quarantine
• Grocery store hoarding. One local expert breaks down the psychology behind it
• Will the Coronavirus affect your financial investments? We’ll speak with a local expert
• The state-bound Timberview Wolves never got the chance to hit the courts
• And, this week’s poll question: “Do you think the supermarket hoarding craze was fueled by mainstream media, social media, both or neither?” We have the answers along with your weekly weather forecast and an in-studio interview with Sonia Salazar from Wyse Wellness regarding the benefits of CBD. We will conclude with your chance to win a $25 gift card to Big D Barbecue with the trivia question of the week. The news is next. We are Mansfield’s only source for news, talk and information. This is About Mansfield.
NEWS
Welcome back to About Mansfield.
Following the recommendations of Tarrant County Public Health, Mansfield ISD has extended Spring Break for an additional two weeks to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus. MISD schools, offices and facilities will be closed to the public from Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27. All extracurricular activities and field trips will be canceled during that period as well. The district will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation prior to reopening school on Monday, March 30 and will communicate updates as necessary. MISD asks that you limit travel, if at all possible, and practice good hygiene etiquette to prevent the spread of this illness and other contagious diseases.
The State of Texas announced Monday it is waiving the standardized STARR testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The A-C-T college admissions test scheduled for April 4 has been rescheduled for June 13, while S-A-T testing scheduled for May 2 has been canceled. Students who have already registered can expect a refund.
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MISD principals and teachers are working out the logistics to continue the learning process during the extended Spring Break. Parents and students will begin to receive correspondences from teachers about lessons and other resources that will keep the educational experience in motion.
Meanwhile, area universities have closed their doors and have continued their curriculum online. TCU in Fort Worth has moved coursework online through April 3rd. UT-Arlington has also moved their courses online and have canceled all campus tours, events, and activities through at least April 6.
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MISD is now offering free, healthy and delicious meals available to all children ages 18 years and younger at the following distribution sites:
• Glenn Harmon Elementary
• D.P. Morris Elementary
• Annette Perry Elementary
• Mary Jo Sheppard Elementary
• Della Icenhower Intermediate, and
• Danny Jones Middle School.
The packaged meals will be distributed from 11 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday in a drive-thru fashion. No one will need to exit their personal vehicle, but all participating children must be in the vehicle. Children do not have to be a student at the distribution campus to qualify for the meal, and families can visit any of the participating sites. Meals will consist of whole grains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables and low-fat milk.
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One area local non-profit organization is in need of your donations. Susan Luttrell is a board member with Common Ground and said food items are in need to supplement the MISD nutrition departments program during this extended spring break.
LUTTRELL: We are working with the school district in conjunction with them getting their lunch meals out each day. We’re also trying to do supplement bags that would carry them a little bit further through the day and through the weekend. With that said, what we’re needing are single serving items. They do not need to utilize a stove or an oven in order to be prepared. Microwavable is fine or straight out of the package. So for instance, Chef Boyardee individual servings, macaroni and cheese individual servings, chicken salads, cereal, breakfast bars, fruit cups and pudding cups, those things are nice, too. But it’s that entree that we’re really looking for and we are hoping to make sure that we have bags in kids hands before the end of the week. And then again next week and of course, adjusting as needed.
Luttrell said that your donations can be dropped off at any time, 24 hours a day.
LUTTRELL: The food items can be dropped off at 777 North Walnut Creek Drive, and that’s at the First Methodist Church, Building D. And there are two big blue bins outside of the Missions Building, Building D and that can be dropped off there anytime. The bins are being monitored and but they’re out there 24 hours.
Common Ground is also working hard to assist with the local elderly.
LUTTRELL: We’re also trying to help fill in the gap where there are senior situations. So we are making sure that seniors that have been attending the senior citizen center and or other programs in the area are getting contacted. These people tend to be isolated. The ones that don’t have transportation, and we’re making sure that they’re getting well-call checks. But also if we find a need for food, we are providing that dropping it off on their doorstep and so once again, there’s no contact. The same thing goes for them as with the kids, single serving entree meals would be great and those can be dropped off at same location.
Again, the drop-off address for your donations to Common Ground is at the First United Methodist Mansfield Church, Building D located at 777 North Walnut Creek Drive.
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On a national level, U. S. Ambassador Dr. Deborah Burke spoke to the nation on Monday in a White House press conference with a plea to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
BURKE: We now need to appeal to every single American so that they can have their role in stopping the spread of this virus. We’ve talked about things before, about washing your hands, but we really want to focus on: if you are sick. Please stay home. If someone in your household is diagnosed with this virus, the entire household should quarantine in the house to prevent spread of the virus to others. If your children are sick, please keep them home.
Dr. Burke continued with a special message to Millennials.
BURKE: We’re asking all of them to hold their gatherings to under ten people. Not just in bars and restaurants, but in homes. We really want people to be separated. To be able to address this virus comprehensively that we cannot see, for which we don’t have a vaccine or a therapeutic. The only thing we have right now is the amazing ingenuity and compassion of the American people.
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Closer to home. Tarrant County Commissioner Devan Allen participated in an online community forum held by State Representative Chris Turner on Monday night to address the concerns of area residents. Commissioner Allen spoke with About Mansfield with a recap of the evening.
ALLEN: Some of the questions were centered around the specifics of COVID-19 and how do you differentiate that from the regular seasonal flu versus a cold or allergies? Other questions were more specific to how we as a county public health department are responding and then what resources are available by way of testing capabilities, and then also just general things to know about them how our county is operating in terms of conducting the normal business of the county in lieu of the declaration that we passed. this past Friday, March 13, our judge declared the county, made an emergency declaration regarding our county.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: So let’s start with them with the county testing, what are the resources for testing for the Coronavirus?
ALLEN: So one of the big things that people ask is, what are what are our testing capabilities in terms of test kits, and so there are test kits which are required by the labs to perform the testing. But then a test kit doesn’t necessarily correlate to the number of people that can be tested with available kits. And then also where can people go for testing. So one of the conversations that we had earlier today in our court was working with our healthcare partners in our public health department to come up with, I would say something like a “decision tree” that would help you to decide where can you go. So right now, our public health department is only providing testing under very specific circumstances and that follow kind of really close clinical guidance and I would be more than happy to connect you with our Director of Public Health, Dr. Vinny Taneja, perhaps he could serve as a as a guest on your show in the very near future. But then also, it’s a matter of, well, if I have insurance, but I don’t have a primary care provider, where can I go. And we’re trying to encourage people not to go to the emergency department, but instead to utilize a doctor’s office if they do have a primary care physician. And then if they don’t, to utilize a one of the urgent care clinics or one of the you know, the pop up medical clinics, and then if you don’t have insurance you can go to the JPS clinics that are throughout our county. And even under those circumstances, you’re not guaranteed a test. Because of the limited availability of testing, we want to make sure that they’re reserved for the most serious need of cases.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: How many confirmed cases of Coronavirus are there in Tarrant County right now?
ALLEN: As of this morning, we had six confirmed cases. The most recent of which is a confirmed case in Grand Prairie.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: Nothing in Mansfield?
ALLEN: Not as far as I know, but to be completely honest with you because things are changing so quickly, it could be that there is confirmation and we just haven’t we don’t know that yet. But as of what I can say for sure, the six confirmed as of this morning with our last update from our public health department.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: What’s the best way for me Mansfield residents to work through the quarantine and get through this crisis?
ALLEN: One of the things that we heard yesterday on the call, regardless of whether it was with the fire chief or from Arlington or Dr. Cantu with Mansfield ISD or even the representative Turner and, of course, with various leaders across the community and community members themselves is that it really is going to take us all working together. And while I may not present with symptoms, I may still fine. I should even as an official limit my activity as much as possible. So and we all should do that as much as we can. And there are those who are more highly at risk and can suffer some of the more severe consequences of the virus and those will be people with pre-existing health conditions. People who were 60 years and older, pregnant women and those that have chronic respiratory illnesses. And so while I may not or though I do have friends and family members who fall in those categories, I want to make sure that I’m doing everything that I can, such as washing my hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, using hand sanitizer of washing my hands with soap and water is not possible, coughing and sneezing into my arm into the bend of your arm. Those things that are hygiene practices that some maybe historically have been better at than others, but we all need to be sure to practice those.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: Do you think at this time that the cities in your precinct or even just Tarrant County as a whole are we going to see them moving towards the same kinds of restrictions that Dallas has placed on, say bars and restaurants and those kinds of establishments to kind of enhance social distancing?
ALLEN: Those are conversations that we’re having right now. Currently, our recommendation for gatherings is 250 or less. And then particularly with bars or restaurants it’s 50% of your occupancy not to exceed 125 people. And so we know that obviously we’re a very connected community. And so we’re evaluating what that looks like for Tarrant County. We’re having conversations with our mayors and business leaders wanting to make the decision that’s in the best interest of our community health, understanding that our economic health is of concern as well. I just want to make sure that I direct the listening audience to a couple of resources, one of which is to our County Public Health website that is dedicated to providing updates regarding the Coronavirus and that is coronavirus.TarrantCounty.com. Again, coronavirus.TarrantCounty.com, and then the Coronavirus hotline, which is 817-248-6299.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: 817-248-6299.
ALLEN: That’s right.
Commissioner Allen represents Tarrant County Precinct 2, which includes the city of Mansfield.
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About Mansfield spoke with Belinda Willis, City of Mansfield Director of Communications and Marketing by phone on Tuesday morning who updated us on what facilities are open and closed on a municipal level.
WILLIS: From the city level, we have canceled all classes, programs, activities and events through March 30, at which time the city will reevaluate the situation. That has not changed. We announced that last week. We have closed our public library and the Mansfield Activities Center. Those two facilities have a lot of activity during the day. In our effort to keep that social distancing and keeping people from congregating, we have closed those two facilities. City Hall is still open. However, we are strongly encouraging residents to do their city business online. There are mechanisms in place for them to pay their water bill online, for them to pay their court fine online. There’s so many things that can be done online via our website. And if they have any questions or concerned or they don’t know if there is something that can be done via the website, they can always contact us here at City Hall. Our staff is here ready to help and to answer any questions.
Willis said that some facility activities have been moved online.
WILLIS: People are doing some really amazing things. And they’re coming together as a community which is not surprising at all about Mansfield. That’s just what we do. Our recreation center may be closed, but our recreation staff is still working. At 10am every day they are coming together and doing a Facebook Live with activities and programs for kids that parents can access for the little ones and the students who are at home because they’re not able to go to school at this point. Our library is looking at at ways that they can continue to help their patrons.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: The Parks and Rec have also gone online with their curriculum, too. Is that correct?
WILLIS: That’s correct. At 10am every day, there’s a Facebook Live from our parks and recreation Facebook page with all different kinds of programming. Yesterday, there was an education program from our nature education specialist. There’s going to be all kinds of activities that are going to be happening that they’re going to be making available.
For more information on city activities, visit MansfieldTexas.gov and click on the Parks and Recreation tab.
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Mansfield Methodist Hospital released a statement to About Mansfield this week following an online, unconfirmed scare that the virus may be local, which read: “Methodist Health System is closely monitoring the Coronavirus outbreak, known as COVID-19. The safety of Methodist patients, staff, physicians, volunteers, and community is our top priority. Methodist regularly treats patients with infectious diseases, and our physicians, nurses, and clinical staff are highly trained in infection prevention protocols. Specific to COVID-19, we are following the procedures outlined by local, state and federal healthcare authorities. Our COVID-19 task force pays close attention to the evolving recommendations of the CDC and acts accordingly.”
As of this recording, there are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus at Mansfield Methodist Hospital.
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So, how has the Coronavirus pandemic affected your financial investments? Is it time to buy or sell? Local financial advisor Phillip Washington, Jr. with Stone Hill Wealth says, “use your head” and sock away that money you’d ordinarily be spending out on the town
WASHINGTON: Be wise, stack up the savings by smart, eat smart. I don’t think it’s the end of the world but take advantage of this period of time to just stack up some money and build some cash. So make it a positive, don’t frivolously waste this opportunity to not stack up money. Use as opportunity, because it’s a great opportunity.
Washington said that it is wise to save and invest the money usually spent on gas eating out and other social activities during the quarantine.
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Grocery Store hoarding during a crisis is a psychological phenomenon that can be simply defined as “monkey see, monkey do.” Our Coleen Daniell spoke with Rachel Terry, a therapist and owner of The Hope Place in Mansfield and breaks down the psychology behind buying, for instance, multiple packs of toilet paper.
TERRY: When you start with something like a pandemic that affects every person, everyone can feel a little bit out of control, especially when we don’t have accurate or consistent information about what is happening. So when someone feels out of control, they have a lot of adrenaline and these different chemicals and hormones that are produced in their brain. In order to get control, or feel like they have control, they will do basically shopping therapy. They will go somewhere and buy something that they can afford; toilet paper’s cheap; buy something that they can afford that they know they’re going to use eventually. And it comes in very large packages, so it looks good on the eye. The bigger it is, the more easily accessible it is, the more that they’re going to feel like they have control over their lives because they have this big item.
It’s very contagious. Kind of like a yawn is contagious. Our mirror neurons will see someone yawn and then all of a sudden we want to yawn. It’s also how little kids or even us, as adults, we learn how to do something new by watching someone else to do it. Our brains can understand, okay, they move their right hand says, to do something, whatever it is to fix this, this item. So I need to move my right hand to fix this item in this way. So when we’re seeing someone else act strangely or oddly, we will tend to mirror it and feel what they’re feeling.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: I can understand that with, maybe one multi-pack of toilet paper is the same thing at play when you see someone buying four multi packs of toilet paper?
TERRY: If they’re buying that many packs, then you can look at what might be causing it and see the difference in thinking of, this as a serious thing or this is not not as much of a serious thing. We’re looking at a pandemic. We’ve never we haven’t experienced this in 100 years. So it’s a pretty big deal and people do understand that and they want to survive. So their brains are kicked into high gear. And you’re going to see weird things like stockpiling the toilet paper, maybe stockpiling meat, whatever it is that people can afford. And then when one person does it, and it helps them feel a little bit better than someone else does it and someone else does it.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: Is there something people can do? Can they understand this phenomena? And maybe, you know, what should they do?
TERRY: Knowing about it is important. So just acknowledge that it is a thing is pretty important. People who have never experienced a trauma in their lives may be brand new to all of these chemicals that are running through their bodies. They’ve never had to have that experience before. So they can know about it would be number one and then number two, they can sit down and write priorities, what is the priority for them. What do they actually need for two weeks? And they do it in different categories. So you do like food. You could say hygiene. And then, you know, learning those those sorts of things. What can you do to be safe? Right for two weeks? Does somebody need 15 packs of toilet paper? Huge packs of toilet paper for two weeks? Well, no, not really. It’s training your logical brain and your frontal lobe instead, to look at the piece of paper and know that this is what you do need. You already have it, we hope and you don’t have to feel that panic because you have it all written down. Writing helps quite a bit, calming our brains and allowing the frontal lobe to move forward.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: Aside from writing your feelings and making lists, Terry recommends that online therapists can walk patients through the coping skills that one needs during a time of crisis. Rachel Terry be found at hopeplacetx.com.
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The Coronavirus pandemic is affecting businesses locally as customers voluntarily self-quarantine. Derek Hubenak of Dirty Job Brewing is hopeful yet says it’s weighed heavily on his mind.
HUBENAK: What’s really going through our minds right now is, at first onset of panic, you know, when you start seeing closures and you know, the effects that are probable for small businesses, not just for ourselves, but for the entire community. There’s so many small businesses in downtown Mansfield that are going to be affected by this, though, that I’m actually getting more comfortable with the way that the community and other business owners are reacting at this time because though, some people are just absolutely saying everything needs to be locked down. I think people are starting to realize, at least sensible people are starting to realize that if you follow CDC suggestions, protocols, and health department protocols, there’s no reason why you can’t still interact and support small businesses. We just do it safely. We’ll get past this and our community will boom and continue to boom. And I’m just praying for all of our fellow business owners that they can survive it and that we’re our community. No one can tracks it.
ABOUT MANSFIELD: If Plan A is full speed ahead, business as usual, you’re open regular business hours, is there a Plan B for Dirty Job Brewing?
HUBENAK: We’ve already switched to Plan B at this point. So what we’ve done is we’ve cut our occupancy to less than half of what it normally is. So we’ve cut our occupancy down to 45. We’ve also said we won’t accept any groups that are larger than 10. And we also ask that everybody will respect the CDC suggested social spacing protocols while in our taproom if they choose to visit, which means we will be spacing our tables out more and putting some up so that you know you don’t have the option to give people the room for that spacing. As well, we’ve also let people know we do still have indoor and outdoor seating. For now our hours are going to remain the same. But we’ve also added the additional curbside service where people can call in an advance put their order in for food or packaged beer to go. We’ve ordered a whole bunch of cans, some of those of which we’re also going to be canning up filtered Mansfield water for any locals in the area that maybe aren’t able to get them on the shelves we can help provide them some emergency relief with some canned water. So we’re trying to do our best to stay open. But we are not going to maintain the typical Plan A at this time.
Hubenak says it’s a time for Mansfield residents and the business community to pull together as one.
HUBENAK: But I also want to encourage all other local business owners to take all the precautions they need to and don’t give up hope, have faith in our community. We’ve seen what what the power of community can do. We saw that on St. Patty’s day when the pickle parade had to cancel unfortunately. everybody’s still supported. And you know, just let’s hang in there and bear with each other in this time and buckle down the hatches and let’s all just come together as a community and make sure our community is safe but also protect our families and in the investments that we’ve made in our business.
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In this week’s poll, Podcast Mansfield Recording Studio once again took to social media and asked the question, “Do you think the supermarket hoarding craze was fueled by mainstream media, social media, both or neither?” Coleen.
With over 400 votes cast, 80% are pointing fingers at both mainstream media, which consists of TV, radio and newspapers — and social media.
We’ll have the results of another unscientific poll next week.
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WEATHER
Let’s check the weather forecast for the upcoming week with Alexa.
Weather Alert for Mansfield. There’s a flash flood watch in effect until Wednesday, March 18 7pm. The forecast for the next seven days:
Wednesday: 80º F and thunderstorms
Thursday: 78º and thunderstorms
Friday: 57º and lots of clouds
Saturday: 59º and intermittent clouds
Sunday: 61º and thunderstorms
Monday: 72º and cloudy skies
Tuesday: 80º and mostly sunny weather
SPORTS
The defending 5A basketball state champions Timberview High School boys team never got the chance for a two-for title as the Texas UIL halted all games following the 3A match last week in San Antonio until further notice. The Wolves were scheduled to play Wagner High School from San Antonio last week for the 5A state title.
Texas UIL and the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools or TAPPS, separately announced last week that all spring sports will be affected. TAPPS suspended spring sports until April 12 while the UIL announced it is shutting down high school competitions through March 29.
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That’s a look at news, weather and sports. If you have a news tip that you would like us to follow up on, send us an email to news@AboutMansfield.com. Again, that’s news@aboutmansfield.com.
We’d like to remind you that there are a couple of ways you can easily follow this podcast. Log on to our website at AboutMansfield.com and enter your email address under the “Follow Podcast by Email” heading or by simply click on the “Subscribe” tab on the podcast player your are currently listening. Following or subscribing is free and we will never send you any spam.
We also want to let you know that CAMPAIGN 2020 starts next week on About Mansfield. It is our intention to interview all 15 of the school board, city council and mayoral candidates. Next week we will present in-studio interviews with all three of the School Board Place 7 candidates.
When we come back, we’ll talk about the benefits of CBD with shop owner Sonia Salazar. We’re back in 30 seconds. You’re listening to About Mansfield.
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INTERVIEW
ABOUT MANSFIELD: Welcome back to another segment of About Mansfield. I’m Steve Cosio. And in the studio today, I have really been looking forward to this segment here, is a shop owner, an entrepreneur based in Mansfield and her business is called Wyse Wellness and it’s W-Y-S-E Wellness. Sonia Salazar, welcome to About Mansfield.
SONIA SALAZAR: Hi, how are you?
AM: I’m doing very well. How are you?
SS: I’m great. Thank you.
AM: Now, I’m actually really excited about about this topic because is, is it evil? Is it good for you? Is it this, is it that, is it…? My mind is just going nuts right now. But first, you and I met at a business networking event. It was held at Lil’ Blue Goat and then later, you and I cross paths at the Chamber of Commerce, where I gave a little seminar on Podcasting 101, and you won the contest, and you are here to collect on your contest, which is a 15-minute interview on the About Mansfield podcast. I am really glad that you won this because CBD is a fascinating topic.
SS: Absolutely.
AM: And that’s what we’re going to talk about for the next 15 minutes. Let’s start with the first question. What is CBD?
SS: Okay, CBD stands for Cannabidiol.
AM: Cannabidiol.
SS: Cannabidiol.
AM: Okay, let’s just call it CBD.
SS: It’s much much easier. So it is a photo cannabinoid that’s found in the cannabis plant. That’s the most basic way to describe it. So the cannabis plant has been bred now over time to have a higher CBD content and a very, very low THC content. Specifically for this reason that people knew that there was these medicinal benefits of the plant, but did not want to have a high euphoric effect. So, over time, we have now with these strains that can have all the way down to non-detectable THC naturally, so that’s where we’re at right now the cultivation of it. So they just learned how to extract it —not too terribly long ago, about 30 plus years ago — but it’s really, in terms of medicine very, very new. And medicine is of course the controversial term for it. But I feel like we’re on the path to getting there to it being accepted as medicine.
AM: So, you said it comes from cannabis; so it’s marijuana? Or hemp? or what is and again, the difference between marijuana and hemp? Where does CBD come from?
SS: All right, so marijuana and hemp are legal terms, not scientific terms. So that is the designation for the THC level in hemp and marijuana so that’s how they determine that is through the percentage of THC. Hemp is the legal designation for anything .3% and under. So anything above that is marijuana and that is a legal term only.
AM: Okay, and it all comes derived from cannabis.
SS: We technically in Texas have low THC cannabis. Can you believe that? I’m saying this right now. That is the technical term.
AM: CBD is legal.
SS: CBD is legal as of June 10, 2019.
AM: THC is not legal.
SS: Up to .3% it is legal.
AM: Okay. All right. When is everything going to become legal?
SS: I’ll put it out there.
AM: You probably don’t have that answer.
SS: I do not know, no one does. We only make laws in this state every two years. So it’s not going to be 2021. But we’re not there yet. Maybe in the next cycle after that, that would probably be our closest time. What else could happen is they could reschedule it federally, but the states still will have the overall regulation and that type of thing and the decisions to make if they went to make it legal or not.
AM: So CBD is not going to get me high?
SS: No.
AM: All right, but what would I use it for? And, actually, let’s start with how is it applied to the body? Is it taken internally, externally? Do I wash my hair with it or, help me out here.
SS: Gotcha. You probably don’t want to wash your hair with it. [laughs] it needs to be on the skin for a duration for it to be able to you know have some kind of effect. So I don’t believe in things that wash off. I don’t believe in soap, CVD soap, shampoo, body wash any of that. Not yet haven’t seen a product haven’t tried one yet that is done anything, which just logically says to me that it really wouldn’t. But topicals take anywhere from five to 10 minutes. So we have a variety of topicals in the store because there’s different formulations, of course and different consistencies. So topicals are great for specific pain, knee, elbow, neck, lower back those types of things. So you leave it on there, but I like to do topicals in a layering fashion. So I would layer it with an ingestion method. Whether you chew it, you put it under your tongue, or you smoke it, some kind of way to get it inside also.
AM: So you’re attacking from both sides, externally and internally.
SS: Correct.
AM: What are some of the symptoms that that people have when they come in to see you to to buy CBD.
SS: So I can’t say that this is you know, an anti-inflammatory. It may work for some people for their inflammatory issues but for FDA regulations, I can’t say it will treat this, it will cure that, it will even help this. All I can say is that you can try it and see what it does for you. Because generally people are looking to control their pain, help with their sleep, and stress and anxiety. Generally, that’s what people tell me. Sleep is probably the biggest one, I would say for sure. And pain is the second one. So there’s different ways that you can treat both of those things. We have sleepy gummies so those have gummies with melatonin in them, and it’s just a little bit of that combination that seems to work really well for people and they can take it every night safely and not feel groggy when they wake up in the morning. We use it ourselves all the time in different ways. Tom uses the gummies not every night but close to every night and then I use tincture because I like tincture, so it’s a whole another way.
AM: So when someone takes CBD whether it’s on the skin or internally, what does what a CDB feel like once it has worked itself into the body?
SS Generally it feels like it feels like the absence of things. So you have the absence of pain, the absence of stress or anxiety and the absence of insomnia. So, some people, it’s such a subtle feeling, and it’s a calming feeling, if you get anything, it’s a relaxed feeling, if you will, without intoxication, so it’s really hard to describe in words. So people tell me that they feel it when it starts wearing off. That’s when they realize how good it’s working because, “now my arm hurts again, about six hours like she told me.” I hear that all the time because tinctures generally last about six hours, you take it under your tongue gets into your system in about five minutes. Edibles will last a little bit longer, about eight hours but they take about a half hour to work. So you kind of trade off things depending on what you’re trying to trade. If you need something for all day. If you have pain all day, from sitting or something like that, you know, an edible is gonna last longer. And of course, for sleep, if you’re trying to get eight hours, you know that elusive number we all try to get.
AM: And so the the effects of CBD then, there really isn’t an effect until it starts to wear off right.
SS: There’s no euphoric effect. So people, I think sometimes are disappointed by that a little bit.
AM: Like, like the lady that I ran into. I was in a CBD store in Arlington. And she goes, “I just can’t decide what to buy. Why can’t I? Because…” I mean she thought that she was going to, she was just in this magical store that whatever she buys, she’s gonna get euphorically high. “I can’t decide what to buy.” Right, settle down, lady.
SS: It is such a just calm, subtle feeling. Like I said, it’s very difficult to describe in words you just have to experience it, it’s an experience, if you will.
AM: Can you cook with CBD?
SS: You can
AM: What do you cook with CBD?
SS: Right now we’re cooking gummies with CBD
AM: We’re cooking gummies
SS: And they’re amazing. And it’s so much fun what we’re doing right now. So we’re infusing coconut oil, and then we’re making gummies out of them. So you infuse a fat. Cannabis is lipophilic or CBD is lipophilic so it likes fat. It works well with fat and that’s why you have CBD oils. So you can cook really almost anything. There’s a process you have to do to get the infusion done. So there’s different steps to do that. But you can buy machines online, you can buy a magical butter machine online or any kind of infuser and make it yourself
AM: That was that was my next question: Can the consumer come in, so I would assume they would buy CBD oil…
SS: They would buy CBD flour. [laughs] We’re into dispensary terms now.
AM: CBD flour.
SS: Correct.
AM: And the other ingredients I would assume are store bought and then you buy a special machine, which will will create the gummies?
SS: Will create the oil, and then you make the gummies out of the oil or butter or whatever you choose to. Yes, it’s an infusion.
AM: Will CBD show up in a drug test?
SS: It can with heavy prolonged use because you do have up to point .3% THC in there. It really just depends on you and how you metabolize things. So we’ve had people that are regularly drug tested because they’re in pain management, but they also take CBD and they’ve been fine. We have others that have a trace amount. So generally, they’re working with their doctor saying, Okay, I’m taking this here’s the labs because we have the lab reports for everything we have in the store and say, Okay, this is why, and generally it’s just a trace amount so they’re able to explain that and it can, and even things that say that are zero percent THC. There isn’t regulation yet. So you have to if your livelihood depends on it, this is what I tell people, if your livelihood depends on it, and I recommend not taking it just because there is a chance
AM: That’s “wyse” advice. [laughs]
SS: That’s what we’re here for.
AM: Is CBD just for humans?
SS: CBD is not just for humans. It is for all mammals with a vertebrae, is what the current studies are telling us but for sure for cats and dogs because we use it on our animals and many people do. It’s one of our bestsellers is is a pet tincture.
AM: My wife and I use CBD oil on our dog, which works wonders when when storms are coming and you had mentioned earlier in the in the interview you use the wording anxiety and that’s what we use it for. Our dog is very anxious. The sound of thunder, and dogs can hear thunder well before people.
SS: Definitely. If it thunders in Grapevine, my Chihuahua is losing her mind and she’s older and so as we know that when she starts like hobbling just a little bit, we just it’s usually daylight now, because she is like 11 years old. So, so she needs just a little bit you know, so they’re so tiny. They don’t need that much and it lasts 12 hours for them. So once a day is plenty for them.
AM: So CBD… It’s for humans.
SS: It’s for humans.
AM: It’s for dogs and cats.
SS: Mm hmm.
AM: It’s not mysterious. It’s not going to get you euphorically high. Would you call it safe?
SS: Definitely I would call it safe. I use it every day. My family uses it every day. There’s lots of people here in Mansfield that are using it every day now. And there’s just so many different uses for it. And It is just a plant.
AM: So it’s all natural.
SS: It is and, you know, they make hamburgers out of plants. So if you think about it in that context, it really is just a plant. For anybody who consumes it, it’s very natural and that’s what I love about it.
AM: If someone wanted more information, where’s your shop located?
SS: It is on FM157, north of Whataburger, between Debbie Lane and Mouser Way and we are right beside Mansfield Fine Jewelry.
AM: Do you have a website?
SS: We do. It’s wysewell.com.
AM: Do you have a phone number?
SS: 682-313-4767
AM: Wysewell.com is the website for Wyse Wellness, if you are interested in receiving more information about CBD, and go see Sonia.
SS: Yes, please come in. I love cana-chats cana-conversations, the whole thing
AM: Cana-chats.
SS: Mm hmm.
AM: I’m learning all kinds of stuff today. [laughs] This is wonderful.
SS: And it’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It is the by far the most interesting. And I meet so many different and new people, and they just want to talk about cannabis.
And, Sonia, you are one of the most fun interviews I’ve done yet. I’ve been doing interviews now for about four or five months here on About Mansfield and appreciate having you here. Thanks for coming in.
SS: It’s been fun.
AM: I look forward to seeing you at your shop in the future.
SS: Sounds good. Thanks.
AM: We’ll be right back.
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We welcome all feedback about the program, whether it’s about a specific news story or feature that you heard. Feel free to chime-in by email at comments@aboutmansfield.com or by voicemail at 817-435-2938. That’s 817-435-2938. We’ll read or play back some of the comments in a future show.
TRIVIA WINNER
Congratulations to Jessica Ross who was the first person to email the correct answer about last week’s trivia question — What was the population of Mansfield, Texas in 1880? Jessica knew that the answer was — 249 and receives a $25 gift card to Big D BBQ.
FUN FACT: In 1880, Texas was the 18th largest state in the 37-state union with just over 1.1 million people. Galveston was the largest city at that time with 22,000. By comparison, Texas is now the second largest state with over 20 million people and Galveston has fallen from number one to 68th place with a population of just over 50,000 people.
After the break, this week’s trivia question of the week. I’m Steve Cosio with Coleen Daniell and this is About Mansfield.
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TRIVIA QUESTION
The first person to email the correct answer to trivia@aboutmansfield.com
will receive a $25 gift card to Big D Barbecue, pumping out smoked, tender meats and a unique organic sauce, paired with local craft beers since 2013. Located next to the railroad tracks at 226 North Walnut Creek Drive in Mansfield, you can find them on the Internet at BigDBarbecue.com.
Let’s get to this week’s question: [YOU MUST LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM FOR THE QUESTION]
Good luck and thanks to Jordy and the great folks at Big D Barbecue for the gift card.
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Coming up next week on About Mansfield: continuing coverage of the Coronavirus and how it affects the lives of Mansfield residents as well as an in-studio interview with Jan and John Cox, owners of Steven’s Garden and Grill as they quickly approach their 20th year in business here in Mansfield. The show will be released on Wednesday March 25. Until then, don’t forget to follow to this podcast, if you haven’t already, so you never miss an episode. It’s free and easy. Just enter your email address on our website. We will never send you any spam, we promise. Thanks for listening. For Coleen Daniell, I’m Steve Cosio and this… is About Mansfield.