Local outdoor occupations seen to get healthy open-air benefits

TEXARKANA — While the coronavirus has forced many office workers and other indoor-workplace employees to stay home, some jobs requiring outdoor work are continuing unhindered.

Exterior building construction and renovation jobs, public road projects, and occupations involving lawn care and gardening are moving at a steady pace.

Some local lawn care professionals attribute their ongoing business largely to the fact that it seems a lot more difficult for viral germs to collect in the open, outside air than in confined, indoor spaces. Indoors, air often stagnates and provides germs with a place to collect, grow and flourish.

“So far, business hasn’t dropped off too bad,” said Gary Meadows, owner of Taylor Lawn and Landscape on West 13th Street.

“While some businesses have shut down, our employees are still out mowing lawns, cutting grass, trimming brushes, mulching leaves and edging along driveways and sidewalks.”

Jessica Crump, an office manager at the Texarkana, Texas-based Beacon Lawn Services, said she has noticed the same.

“It looks like our employees are working outdoors and doing pretty much the same work that they have always done — just like it’s normal business,” she said. “In fact, the volume of calls we get from people at their homes is still very steady. Even when the coronavirus first hit, the last of the winter leaves were still falling so we still have good business.”

As for outdoor government-related jobs, like county road repair and upkeep, Carla Jenkins, administrative assistant for the Miller County Judge’s Office, said county road crews continue to practice social distancing as well as wear masks and gloves outdoors, even if the threat of viral germs is far less likely then indoors.

“It might be actually better to work outdoors and the road crews are keeping up well,” she said.

At Bowie County, all four precinct road commissioners agreed with Jenkins. Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Carter and Precinct 3 Commissioner James Strain said their road crews still practice social distancing — even when it comes to riding in vehicles

“Many of the crews still comply by wearing their masks and gloves, but the outside air sure helps,” Strain said.

■ Thanks to the open-air nature of their jobs, a number of outdoor workers including road crews and lawn care professionals are still at work as COVID-19 forces many people with indoor jobs to stay home.