A memorial to honor the victims and survivors of COVID-19 was observed by the City of Dothan Monday.
Mark Sabila is mayor of Dothan. He issued a proclamation declaring March 1 a day to honor pandemic victims at a February City Commission meeting.
Sabila said the public being overloaded with information has been the main challenge of leading Dothan through the pandemic.
“There’s no one source that has all the answers," he said. "I think it is our goal to try to get as much good information as we can to as many of our people in our community as we can, and let them and help them make the best decisions for their own lives and for the lives of others.”
Sabila said that despite the year’s hardship, there’s now a light at the end of the tunnel.
“We have strength in our relationships with one another, to care and look out for each other, and to know that we’ve all been going through something that’s now common to us all, and that together we can do so much better for each other than apart,” he said.
Sabila said Dothan residents were supportive of the memorial observance. In declaring the memorial day, Sabila felt it was an appropriate move after being asked to do so by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.